Journey Of An Autistic Trainer
by Wildstar93
Summary: Ash is diagnosed with autism, but that's not stopping him from making a Pokémon journey of his own. On his travels, he will have friends who help him, gym leaders with differing views on autism, and (of course) Pokémon. Can he prove that autistic people can be capable of being trainers? Rated T for later themes.
1. Prologue

**Hey there, everyone, and welcome to my newest story: Travels Of An Autistic Trainer! I've been inspired by several things including the FanFic The Road To Becoming a Pokémon Master and autism itself.**

**I found myself wanting to do it for some time after reading up on episodes. I gotta admit that, much as the first season episodes were fun to watch, they could be a pain. Not that I'm bashing the anime or anything since I hate bashing, but I'd like to see some different things. Like the character reactions, filler episodes, and which ****Pokémon the characters get. And like I said before, it's kinda inspired by The Road To Becoming A Pokémon Master, but it'll be different.**

**So anyway, here's the disclaimer, summary, and the story.**

**Disclaimer: Remember, I don't own ****Pokémon. Satoshi Tajiri is the owner of Pokémon (Fun Fact: Satoshi Tajiri is autistic).**

**Summary: Ash is diagnosed with autism, but that's not stopping him from making a ****Pokémon journey of his own. On his travels, he will have friends who help him, gym leaders with differing views on autism, and (of course) Pokémon. Can he prove that autistic people can be capable of being trainers?**

**Publishing Date: March 30, 2015**

**Enjoy!**

**...**

_**Prologue**_

"Come on, Nidorino! Beat that Gengar!"

Ash Ketchum had been watching his favorite program: the Pokémon League that was held anually in the Kanto region. He was a pretty excitable ten-year-old boy with raven-black hair, lightning-like marks on his cheeks, brown eyes, and (currently) lime-green nightclothes. Currently, he had much of the Pokémon merchandise out in his time, from action figures to clothing, to a gaming system and even bed-sheets.

What the strangest thing about him was that he was diagnosed with autism, on the Asperger's side. His mother Delia had found out when he was taken to a doctor in Viridian City when she noticed that he wasn't playing well with the other kids. Unfortunately, this caused a big rift between Ash and Gary Oak, who had been friends ever since they were little. He was sociable whenever he wanted to be, but he still wouldn't look others in the eyes, he often played alone, and he had interests differing from others.

The bedroom door suddenly opened, and his mother stepped in. She was a kindly woman with brown hair, brown eyes, a pink shirt, and a violet skirt. And she was currently looking a little miffed and worried at the same time.

"Ash, it's past your bedtime," Delia scolded. "You don't want to be late for tomorrow, do you?"

"Sorry, Mom," Ash said, not looking her in the eyes.

Delia's face softened as she watched him head over to his bed. "It's okay," she told him. "I guess I'm just afraid."

Ash blinked. "Afraid? Of what?"

"Not _of_ something, sweetie. Afraid _for you_." Delia sat down next to him and wrapped her arms around him. "You'll be going off on your own for the first time on your Pokémon journey, and you might not get much help along the way. What'll happen if you get hurt or lost? Or what if someone bullies you?"

"I can try," Ash replied optimistically. "Don't worry, Mom. I'll be okay."

Delia sighed and gently ruffled his spiky black hair. "Doesn't stop a mom from worrying, though. But I really DO hope you do great out there." She gave him a kiss on the cheek and said, "Make sure you get some sleep, Ash. Be sure to be up at around six tomorrow morning."

Thus, Ash got under the covers and said, "Okay. Love ya, Mom."

"Love you too, Ash," Delia replied with a small smile. "And good-night."

With that, she got up from the bed, turned the light off, and walked out of her son's room.

Once she was out of the room, she decided to make a call to an old friend. Professor Oak, who lived not too far away, had been supportive of Ash ever since her husband disappeared, and he was an inspiration to starting trainers in Kanto. Deciding to save her own movie night for tomorrow night, she walked over to the vision-phone in the kitchen and dialed his number.

"Professor Oak?" she called right away.

The face of an old man slowly appeared on the vision-phone. He had been a well-known Pokémon expert and an old family friend. Delia was happy to see him, for she needed some advice for Ash.

"Hello, Delia!" Professor Oak greeted her jovially. "How's Ash been today?"

Delia smiled a bit. "Ash has been doing good. He helped me out with dinner today, and I got him some books he really liked."

Professor Oak smiled. "Good, good," he said with a nod. "And I hope he's ready to choose his first Pokémon tomorrow. Has he told you which one he'll choose?"

"No, but he's excited about it," Delia replied. "Which one would you recommend?"

"Well..." Professor Oak took up a PokéBall and looked down at it. "I have one in mind besides Bulbasaur, Charmander, and Squirtle. A starter would be good for Ash, but since Ash is autistic, he could use a special Pokémon to help him out."

Delia blinked once and asked, "Really? Do Pokémon really do that?"

Professor Oak put down the ball and said, "Yes. Professor Birch from Hoenn had told me of a young sickly trainer who's had a Ralts helping him out. I looked up some bits of autism and saw that Pokémon can help those with disabilities. So this morning, I caught one." With a chuckle, he said, "I hope Ash likes this one."

"I hope so too," Delia told him. "Can I tell Ash tomorrow?"

"If you'd like," Professor Oak said. "And I better go. Looks like the lasagna's ready to come out of the oven. I'll see you and Ash tomorrow."

Delia giggled. "Thanks for the advice, Professor Oak. Good-night."

"Good-night."

At this, she hung up.

_**To be continued...**_

**...**

**There we go, folks! I hope you like it so far. And I hope I got the autistic traits good in this Fic. If not, let me know, and I'll fix it. I think it can be hard writing a story about autism.**

**On this journey, there'll also be people who will help him and people who'll give him a hard time. I've already decided on one person who'll support him and one person who'll be an obstacle (besides Gary). Maybe a gym leader might help or harm him, and I'd like to see his take on things. Plus, Ash will also get a little sensitive towards yelling, which is something I am in real life, but I will NOT make him a Marty Stu.**

**See ya next time! And Happy early Easter!**


	2. The Big Day

**Hey there, everyone, and welcome back to Journey Of An Autistic Trainer! So far, I've had a private message tell me that this will be a challenge since Asperger's Syndrome is a rather sensitive subject. I wanna thank them for the advice they gave out, and I once again ask all of you to correct me if I do it wrong.**

**I've been wondering on who will be Ash's traveling partner in this FanFic. Maybe Brock and Misty, but I wanted to choose someone else to help him. Maybe a future traveling companion like Serena or May or maybe someone with Asperger's themselves. I had been thinking of doing the latter so that Ash could learn to have confidence in being autistic.**

**Oh, and before we go on, this person also corrected a mistake I made. Satoshi Tajiri is actually an Aspie (AKA Asperger's).**

**Uploading Date: March 31, 2015**

**Enjoy!**

**...**

_**The Big Day**_

The next morning, Ash had woken up right before the sky started to lighten up. He was so excited about being a Pokémon trainer that he got through taking a bath and dressing quickly. He had greeted his mother before starting on his breakfast, remembering not to eat too fast. If he did, he could choke.

"Ash, I was just thinking," Delia said, sitting down across from Ash as he finished his cereal. "Have you decided on what starter you want?"

Ash stopped to think for a moment or two. Finally, he said, "No. I haven't really decided. I like them all, but I can't decide."

Delia took the chance to say, "Well, Professor Oak called me last night. He said that he's got a special Pokémon for you. It can help you out in your journey. But if you want another Pokémon-"

"I wanna check out that Pokémon first," Ash said. "What kind is it?"

"I don't know. Professor Oak didn't tell me," his mother answered. "So anyway, your backpack's packed, and I got you some spending money, some snacks, and some clothes. Did you took your bath already?"

Ash nodded. "Yep."

"And you brushed your teeth?"

"Yep."

"And you changed your-"

"Mom! You know I did!" Ash protested; he always felt embarrassed whenever his mother said this. Then he got up from his seat, grabbed his backpack off the couch, and headed to the front door, saying, "I'm ready! Let's go!"

Delia sighed, but she smiled while doing so and murmured to herself, "He's always raring to go. Let's get it started."

Thus, they left the house after this, heading down the road to Professor Oak's lab, which was in the middle of a large field. Around them, others were leaving from their houses, and Ash guessed they were wanting to see who was getting their first Pokémon. He wondered what kind of Pokémon he would want to get: the calm Bulbasaur, the feisty Charmander, or the jolly Squirtle.

"Well, well, well, if it isn't Ashy-Boy! Too lame to go by yourself?"

Ash winced when he heard the familiar mocking voice coming his way. Gary Oak, his former best friend, was coming towards him from the direction of the lab, his cheerleader squad following him. Ash's autistic behavior had baffled Gary, so he had started shunning him away from himself and the other children.

"Leave me alone," Ash said, his voice trembling as he tried standing up for himself. "I wanted my mom to come with me."

"He's right, Gary Oak," Delia warned Gary with a glare. "We don't have time to talk. I'm with him to make sure he's safe."

Gary snorted and walked away, saying, "Fine, whatever. I got my Pokémon anyway. Later, Ashy-Boy!"

With a derisive laugh, he walked away, his cheerleaders following him and chanting his name. Ash felt like the mood was tampered when he had encountered his former friend. He didn't know what he was going to do if he and Gary met again on their journeys, and he felt a tear of shame come to his eyes.

Beside him, Delia stopped beside him and said, "It's okay, Ash. No need to cry; he's gone. I'll have a word with Professor Oak about Gary when we get there. Just try and focus on getting your first Pokémon, okay?"

"Okay," Ash said, sniffling a bit and wiping away the tears. He smiled a bit and said, "Still, having a Pokémon will be a lot of fun! I heard Bulbasaur and Squirtle will be handy on the first part of traveling. What do you think, Mom?"

"You can choose whatever you like, sweetie," Delia said. Then she suddenly exclaimed, "Oh! We're here already!"

The sun was already starting to rise over their destination: Professor Oak's lab. It was resting on the top of a hill, and Ash remembered visiting there when he was little, playing with the starter Pokémon here. He had to admit that he was more of a Pokémon person than a people person. When he stopped thinking, he saw that Delia was walking up the steps already, and he followed her.

"Good morning, you two!" Professor Oak greeted them with a smile.

"Good morning, Professor," Ash piped up. It was good seeing his old family friend again.

Delia said the same before she added, "By the way, we ran into Gary on the way here. All he did was call Ash lame and tried to intimidate him."

The professor had a concerned look on his face when he heard this, for he himself had not liked what his grandson was doing to his former best friend. Then he said, "I don't know what made Gary hate anything with being autistic, but I'll talk to his parents about it. This has to stop. Anyway," he continued, issuing them inside, "come in. Have I got a treat for you, Ash!"

Ash and his mother went inside, and they were already in the lobby of the lab. There were many gadgets and machines Ash didn't know about, and they passed by some people working on computers and one even examining a pink fairy-like Pokémon. When they made it to the main study room, Ash noticed three PokéBalls on the table and made his way over to get one.

"Wait a minute, don't touch those!" Oak called behind him as he and Delia caught up with him. "Those PokéBalls are empty. My grandson, a boy, and a girl had already picked out the starter Pokémon."

"Aww..." Ash felt down about it. Eager as he was to see this special Pokémon, he had still wanted to get a starter.

Seeing the look on his face, Professor Oak said, "Ah, but this can be a blessing in disguise. You still have this Pokémon here."

He held out a PokéBall, and Ash stared down at it while he rocked back and forth on his heels. It looked like an ordinary PokéBall except that it had a lightning bolt on the front. He curiously pressed the button in the middle, and it opened up, leaving him stumbling back in alarm. A beam of white light came out of it, and it started forming an animalistic shape before settling before him.

Standing before him was a yellow mouse-like Pokémon that barely reached up to his knee. It was looking up at him with curious eyes, its lightning-shaped tail twitching a bit. "Pikachu!" the Pokémon squeaked.

"Wow...it's a Pikachu!" Ash gasped, stepping forward. "I've always liked Pikachu! How'd you get it, Professor Oak?"

Oak smiled. "I had taken a trip to Viridian Forest to study the flight pattern of Butterfree when I noticed this Pikachu helping himself to a snack in my bag. He doesn't seem like the type to zap people on sight. Why don't you give him a pat on the head?"

Ash looked around at Delia as if to ask what to do. His mother nodded and said, "Go ahead, honey."

So Ash reached out a gentle hand and gently rubbed it over Pikachu's head. The Pikachu had nearly flinched when it saw his hand approaching, but at the soft touch, it gave a contented sigh and let him continue petting it.

"I like this little guy," Ash said. "He looks nice. Can I keep him?"

"Of course you can. He's your starter after all," Professor Oak said with a chuckle. "Not only that, but he's also a therapy Pokémon, to help you out with emotional problems. Which reminds me." He walked over to the desk and picked up a red device and some PokéBalls, saying, "You'll need these on your journey, Ash. The PokéDex is like an electronic encyclopedia that records data about Pokémon."

Ash lifted his hand after rubbing Pikachu. "And the PokéBalls help you catch Pokémon, right?"

Professor Oak nodded and handed them to Ash. "Indeed."

When Ash got them, he opened the PokéDex, which said in an electronic male voice, "_Hello. I am Dexter. I am an electronic encyclopedia that helps trainers on their journey. I am responsible for helping Ash Ketchum on his journey, and I cannot be replaced_." Then, apparently noticing Pikachu, it said, "_Pikachu is the Mouse Pokémon. When several of them gather in one place, they generate enough lightning to create a thunderstorm."_

"Thunderstorms can be scary...but it's still cool!" Ash exclaimed. Then he took the PokéBall Pikachu was in and said, "Get in the ball, Pikachu. Go on."

But Pikachu suddenly jumped away from him and hid behind Delia's legs, staring fiercely at the PokéBall. Ash looked down at the ball and asked, "Why won't he go inside?"

"Perhaps Pikachu hates being inside a PokéBall," Professor Oak said. "Many Pokémon like traveling in them, but a few can decide not too. And let me tell you, this Pikachu did not like being in there. In fact, I had quite a _shocking_ experience the first time I let him out!" he laughed as he said the pun.

Ash laughed too; he always liked puns. Then he told Pikachu, "Hey Pikachu. I'm sorry I tried to force you into the PokéBall. Can you forgive me?"

"Pika..." Pikachu stepped out cautiously from behind Delia's legs and stared into his eyes. Ash broke the eye contact, aware that he didn't like having eye contact for a long time, and Pikachu rested a paw on his arm, saying soothingly, "Pika Pikachu!"

"Looks like you two are going to get along well," Delia spoke up. Then she stepped forth and gave her son a big hug, saying, "I might not see you again except over the phone. And you know how worried I'll be for you. So when you get to a new town or city, always call me so I can be sure you're okay. All right?"

Ash nodded and hugged her back. "Okay, Mom. I love you."

Delia stepped back, a tear or two in her eyes. "I love you too, honey. Be the best trainer you can be."

"And if you want," Professor Oak told him, "you can try taking on the gyms so you can get the badges and participate in the Indigo Plateau Pokémon League. Good luck out there, Ash."

Ash nodded and tapped his side once. Pikachu ran over to him and jumped up onto his shoulders with a happy "Pika!" After giving his mother and Professor Oak one final look, he turned around and headed out of the laboratory.

Once he was out of the lab, he wondered if he was either going to go right away or hang around until the other trainers went. Ash was just heading down the steps when he saw a teen approaching him. She was a pretty young (and pretty) girl with long brown hair, kindly green eyes, and a green shirt and green skirt. As soon as she noticed him, she smiled and headed towards him.

"Daisy!" Ash exclaimed happily as the teen approached. She had been his babysitter in the past, and he liked her company. "What're you doing here?"

"I came to check on you when I heard you were getting your first Pokémon." Then she looked at Pikachu and said, "This must be him. He's a cute little guy, isn't he? Grandpa sure knows which Pokémon suits the trainer."

Ash nodded, though he blushed when Daisy looked at him and said the "cute" part.

Then Daisy went on in a serious tone, "I heard about what Gary said to you; he was practically bragging about it. He may be my little brother, but he can be a pain sometimes. If you want, I can join you on your journey and help you out."

"Really?" Ash asked.

In the meantime, Daisy went on, "But if you don't want a traveling companion now, I can at least join you until we reach Viridian City. I have something I want to take there anyway." She bent down a little next to him and added, "I know you don't like being with others too much, but at least having one person with you will keep you safe from wild Pokémon."

Finally, Ash nodded and said, "I guess it won't hurt. You can come along."

"Good," Daisy said with a smile. "Partners from now on!"

"Wait," Ash said just as they were starting to walk. "What about you getting a Pokémon?"

Daisy took out a PokéBall, saying, "Don't worry. I caught one two days ago when we visited Cerulean City."

Ash gave Daisy a small smile, and the two of them and Pikachu started heading towards the gate outside of Pallet Town. Their journey had just begun.

_**To be continued...**_

**...**

**There we go! I hope you all like this chapter. If not, let me know what's wrong, and I'll do my best to fix it. And if I'm portraying autism or Asperger's wrong, PLEASE let me know, but PLEASE be polite about it.**

**I've been pondering for a bit on who Ash's traveling companion will be, and at first, I thought it'd be Serena. But I decided on Daisy Oak. She wasn't seen at all in the anime, but she could be very helpful towards Ash. Like in Gold and Silver and the remakes, she can help massage his Pokémon, give him some advice, and even defend him from people yelling at him. Don't worry, though; Ash will defend himself in the future.**

**And I know Daisy is actually Blue's sister, but I'll explain that later.**

**See ya next time! And Happy early Easter!**


	3. On The Road To Viridian City

**I will cancel this story.**

**...APRIL FOOLS!**

**Hey there, everyone, and welcome back to Journey Of An Autistic Trainer! Plenty of people are liking it, and I'm glad they like it. I'd remind people to let me know if I'm portraying this wrong, but you all know already.**

**This part will be different from the anime, a LOT. In the anime, Ash keeps making one mistake after another, and it made me think "Is Ash the butt of jokes in the Pokémon world?" But what if he had someone to teach him what to do during this journey? Someone who is kind but firm when pointing out his mistakes instead of yelling at him about it, someone who can encourage him to do his best instead of making fun of him for it. You get the point.**

**And for some reason, Daisy Oak reminds me of Holly from Monster Rancher for some reason. One more thing: This will NOT be an AshXDaisy story.**

**Uploading Date: April 1, 2015**

**Enjoy!**

**...**

**_On The Road To Viridian City_**

"Wow...look at the Pokémon around here!"

Ash and Daisy had been walking for some time on Route 1, talking a bit and taking a look around at the scenery. They were traveling through an open field with a few trees here and there, and Ash was feeling relaxed being out here in the countryside. Daisy had been helpful towards him, reminding him to use potions whenever his Pikachu would get injured, and he wondered what would have happened if she had not been there for him.

Currently, they were taking a break near a tree and a stream, where they could stop for a snack. Daisy had released her Pokémon, a little brown fox-like Pokémon named Eevee, and she had bonded with Pikachu right away. They even stirred up a flock of brown-and-cream bird Pokémon, which chirped angrily and flew out of the way.

"_Pidgey is the Tiny Bird Pokémon,_" the Pokédex informed Ash from the side of his backpack. "_It is docile and prefers to avoid conflict. If disturbed, however, it can ferociously strike back."_

Ash stood up, holding a PokéBall in his hand. "Wow, it's a flock of Pidgey!" he exclaimed. "Let's go get one!"

"Hold on, Ash," Daisy said, making Ash stop in his tracks. "You can't just charge at Pokémon. You've got to challenge them first."

"Oh," Ash said. He turned to Pikachu and said, "Hey Pikachu. How about we have our first battle?"

Pikachu's ears pricked up, and he got into a battle pose as he exclaimed, "Pika Pika!"

Ash gave a cheer before saying, "All right then, Pikachu! Thunderbolt!"

To his surprise, Pikachu turned around and shook his head. Ash was confused; was Pikachu unable to fight?

"Pikachu doesn't learn that until he gets stronger. Why not use Thundershock?" Daisy suggested helpfully.

"Oh." Briefly embarrassed, Ash said, "Never mind Thunderbolt, Pikachu! Use Thundershock!"

This time, Pikachu's red cheeks started sparkling before yelling, "PiikaaCHUUUU!" and letting out a spark of electricity. The lead Pidgey's eyes were wide as the attack hit it, making it squawk as it was electrified. As it recovered from the attack, it gave Pikachu an angry look and started flapping its wings hard, kicking up some dust. Pikachu was distracted by this and was soon tackled from the side by Pidgey, which had darted in to strike.

But as Pidgey jumped back, it suddenly flinched as static crackled around its body. It tried striking again, but it stopped and hobbled to the side, giving Pikachu a defiant glare.

"It's paralyzed!" Daisy called. "Pikachu's Static ability activates when someone does a physical move! Now you can throw a PokéBall!"

Ash nodded and got a PokéBall out from his bag, letting it grow in his hand. Then with the likeliness of a baseball player throwing the ball, Ash threw the PokéBall at the Pidgey, yelling, "PokéBall, go!"

The ball soared right towards Pidgey, who couldn't get out of the way in time and was hit by the ball. It was sucked in by red energy

"Yes!" Ash cheered. "We got a Pidgey!"

"Pika Pika!" Pikachu chanted.

Daisy smiled too. "Great job, Ash! You caught your first wild Pokémon!"

"Thanks, Daisy," Ash said with joy. "You're a great teacher!"

The brown-haired teen's cheeks turned pink, and she nodded. But then, she gasped as a purple rat Pokémon ran past them, a bag of cookies gripped tight in its teeth.

"Hey, those were mine!" Ash yelled.

"_Rattata is the Rat Pokémon_," the Pokédex informed him. "_Cautious in the extreme, its hardy vitality lets it live in any kind of environment. It also eats nuts, fruit, insects, and food from unsuspecting trainers."_

"We better let it go," Daisy told Ash just as he was going to go after the thief.

"No way! I like those cookies!" Ash protested. As the Rattata slunk away, he yelled, "Get back here, Rattata!"

Daisy sighed. "Nothing gets between you and those cookies, do they?" she muttered. "Okay, we'll go after that Rattata. But after that, you leave it alone."

Ash nodded and started running off after the Rattata, Pikachu and Daisy behind him. The Rattata was running down the hill with difficulty because of the cookie bag in its teeth, but it was doing its best to keep away from the humans chasing it. It went around rocks and went under fallen logs, and while Ash and Daisy had trouble catching up due to the obstacles, Pikachu was keeping up because of its small size. But as Ash was running after the Rattata, he slipped and tumbled down a hill, accidentally knocking him or her over with a yelp.

They both got up, and Ash got a view of whom he had knocked into. It was a girl around Daisy's age with a small yellow shirt, short jean shorts, short bright red hair, and blue-green eyes. But as soon as the redhead had recovered from being knocked over, she was suddenly angry.

"Watch where you're going!" he snapped, staggering away from him.

Ash jumped away from her. "Sorry!" he exclaimed.

The redhead huffed before glaring down at the fishing rod. "Great. Now the line's all messed up," she growled. "Thanks a lot, kid."

Ash couldn't help but feel ashamed, and he felt his legs tremble. Just one day as a Pokémon trainer, and he had already ruined someone else's day. Being yelled at it for that was even worse.

"What's going on?" Daisy and Pikachu had walked up to see what was up, and Daisy's face slightly lightened when she saw the redheaded girl. "Misty! How are you? Out for another fishing trip?"

"Yep. And I'm fine," Misty said, sounding a bit friendlier towards her. Then, with a glare at Ash, she said, "At least, I would've felt better if this brat hadn't wrecked my fishing rod."

At this, Daisy's face turned from friendly to wary and stern. Then she stepped around to shield Ash from Misty's glare as she said, "Don't call him a brat, Misty. He's just a starting trainer, and a Rattata stole our snacks."

Misty nodded coolly. "Still, make sure he learns a lesson in not being reckless."

"I will," Daisy said with the same tone. "And in turn, I hope you learn a lesson in being tolerant to autistic kids."

"Oh...I didn't know." Misty's face turned from angry to slightly abashed as she looked at Ash. "I'm sorry I yelled at you. Just...be more careful next time."

Ash saw that Misty was going to lay a hand on his shoulder, and he shrugged her away and backed off. He didn't mind being touched by those he personally thought, but when he was feeling emotional, he didn't want want to be touched. He watched as Misty walked off after a word with Daisy, and Pikachu watched the redheaded girl go with dislike on his face. Right when she was gone, he had started crying from shame.

"I'm sorry," Ash cried, stepping away from Daisy. "I was being stupid!"

"Don't call yourself that, Ash," Daisy said. "Don't you ever call yourself stupid. Yes, you may have been a little reckless, but it was just an accident."

Ash didn't feel any better. "That's not what Misty said when I crashed into her. She seems pretty mean."

Daisy sighed and sat a little closer to him. "She can be nice on a good day, but when pushed, yeah, she can be mean. She may be a Water type trainer, but she can be as hotblooded as fire." Ash gave a sort of hiccup which sounded like a laugh, and she said, "Glad to see you're trying to feel better, Ash. How about we get packed up and go on our way to Viridian City? We can get your Pidgey healed, and then we can get something to eat there to cheer you up."

"Okay," Ash said with a small smile. Then he asked, "But what about the cookies that Rattata took?"

"I think we better let it go," Daisy said. "It probably had a family to feed or something. Now let's pack up and get going."

So they headed back to their resting place, packed up their belongings, and started their trek again. Nothing much exciting came after that, just the occasional Pidgey or Spearow pecking at the ground. And as if feeling that Ash wasn't completely okay, Pikachu jumped onto his shoulder and gave him a comforting lick. Now Ash was more than happy that Pikachu was his partner because he was feeling better with the Mouse Pokémon being with him.

"Daisy?" Ash asked as they passed by a stream.

"Yeah?"

"How do you know Misty?"

Daisy looked around. "She and I often hung out when we were younger. Like I said, she's the Cerulean City gym leader and the second to go after Brock. He's the Pewter City gym leader, and he specializes in Rock types. He's another guy I hung around with when I was younger."

"But isn't there the Viridian City gym?" Ash asked in a confused tone.

"Yes, but it closed down some time ago. You'll have to make do with Pewter City for now," Daisy informed him. "And you do know that if you collect badges-"

"Then you get to participate in the Pokémon League," Ash finished for her. "I saw it from my favorite TV show. I learned a lot from it and some books."

Daisy looked amused as she said, "That's good. And did you learn it from books too?"

Ash nodded. "Yep. I looked up Pokémon types in there, what kind of battles there are, and some moves and how they work."

"Many autistic kids have a specialty that they're really good at. So that must be your specialty," Daisy suggested. "Learning about what goes on in a Pokémon battle. You might be even better than Gary because of this."

"Pikachu," Pikachu added in agreement.

But at the mention of his new rival, Ash looked down at his feet. He wished that he could make up with Gary so that they could be friends again, but that seemed a long way off. Still, he couldn't forget the taunting and teasing Gary gave him because of his autism, and most of the other kids didn't do anything to help him. Only Daisy and another girl were the only ones to defend Ash.

Noticing the frown on his face, Daisy said, "Hey, don't worry about Gary right now. He's made his choice. By the way," she went on, pointing in the distance, "you see those shadows in the distance?"

Ash looked where she was pointing: tall pointed shadows in the distance. They reminded him of skyscrapers...but that was when he blinked a few times. Those really _were _skyscrapers, and that could mean only one thing.

"We're almost there!" Ash cried happily. "Viridian City!"

**_To be continued..._**

**...**

**There we go, folks. They're almost at Viridian City. And if you can guess what the title of the chapter is from, then you're a winner! By the way, I hope you all like this chapter, because if there's something you don't like, I'll change it. And I wanna thank Canada Cowboy for the advice on letting Ash have a specialty he's really good at. In the anime, Ash has a knack for knowing about Pokémon battles, and he's a clever strategist in later seasons. So once again, I wanna thank Canada Cowboy.**

**Here was another obstacle in this Pokémon story: gym leaders. Misty will be one of the obstacles because in the anime, yes, Ash had messed things up, but I think Misty yelling at him for it doesn't help. She may have been trying to help, but her hotblooded nature seem to override what she's trying to teach him. So that could be the reason why Daisy Oak would be Ash's traveling partner instead.**

**Happy Easter! Wait a minute...APRIL FOOLS! It's not Easter yet! So see ya next time!**


	4. The Pokémon Center

**Hey there, everyone, and welcome back to Journey Of An Autistic Trainer! So far, this story is going good, and the reviews are good. I might not be able to upload every day, but I'm gonna try hard to upload the most I can.**

**There will be a few things that'll be from the anime, and there will even be references from later episodes of later seasons. And in this episode, there could be a reference to Team Rocket from Pokémon Emergency. But the Team Rocket trio won't show up as often as usual; that could be a reference to Pokémon Yellow Version. To those who don't like the trio, have no fear. They won't appear as usual as they did in the anime!**

**Uploading Date: April 2, 2015**

**Enjoy!**

**...**

_**The Pokémon Center**_

Ash stared around him in awe as he took in the view of Viridian City. Buildings towards so high above him that he had to crane his neck back to see the clouds and the sky, which was turning orange from the sunset. People were out doing city people stuff, and there were a few Pokémon dotted here and there, some tame and others as strays. There wasn't much of this at Pallet Town, and he now felt a little more vulnerable.

"I feel really small now," Ash exclaimed. "The city's bigger than Pallet Town. I'm not sure if I like it."

Daisy stuck close to him and said, "Don't worry. We might stay here for a night or two. Not every city or town is this big...except for Saffron City."

"Well, you better be careful. And what're you two doing out here?"

Ash and Daisy jumped at the voice and spun around. A woman with spiky blue hair and a blue police uniform had stopped before them, her motorcycle blocking their way.

"Good afternoon, Officer Jenny," Daisy said with a bow. "We just got here."

"I bet you haven't heard the news yet, but I'll tell you." Before Ash could comprehend what was going on, Officer Jenny said, "We've just gotten word of three crooks going around and trying to steal others' Pokémon. They consist of a man, a woman, and a Meowth, and though we've seen them be goofy once, but if they had something like autism, that could mean they'd be dangerous."

"_I'm _autistic," Ash spoke up, stung by those words. "And I'm not dangerous."

Jenny looked around at him, Daisy resting a hand on his shoulder. Then the police officer sighed and said, "Sorry I said that then, kid. I didn't mean anything bad about autistic people; I was just saying that these people could be armed and dangerous. Why don't you hop onto my motorbike?" she added, giving the front of the vehicle a pat. "I'll take you to the Pokémon before it gets very dark."

Daisy nodded. "We'd love a ride. Ash, what do you think?" she asked the novice trainer.

Ash didn't look up at her, instead choosing to look down at his feet. "Sure. I'd like a ride."

So Officer Jenny waited until they got on board before passing out helmets to protect their heads during the ride. Once they got their helmets on and their seat belts on, she revved up the engine, and the motorbike went roaring through the streets like a freight train. Ash wasn't used to traveling on a vehicle that much, so he had to wrap his arms around Daisy's waist to keep himself from falling off. Even Pikachu hated the ride, opting to go between the two travelers to avoid falling off and getting hurt.

At last, a few minutes later, they arrived at a building with red and white all over. There was a sliding at the front, and Jenny stopped right before it, a look of mischief coming over her face.

"Hold on to your helmets," she said, revving the engine as loudly as she could. "We're gonna make a little scene here."

"Wait, you're going through the door?!" Daisy asked. "Are you crazy?!"

Jenny shrugged. "Better that than waiting out here. Hold on!"

"No, wait!" Ash yelled, afraid of what crashing through the glass would do.

It was too late. Officer Jenny started the engine and sped right at the door, which shattered with a loud _CRASH! _Ash gave a yelp of fright and clung closer to Daisy, his arms wrapping more around her waist. Pikachu gave a "PIKA!" and nestled even closer between the young trainers.

When they got inside, they saw what looked like the inside of a human hospital lobby. There were a few tables and lounge chairs where people could relax, a flight of stairs that supposedly led to more rooms, and a room they didn't know yet. If Ash and Daisy weren't scared out of their wits from crashing into the center, they would have been impressive.

"Jenny! You could've hurt them!" A voice made them look around at a pretty pink-haired nurse by a counter. "And you smashed the center door down! Can't you try and use the door instead of going through it?"

"Sorry. I couldn't resist a little entrance like that. But rest assured, I WILL pay for it," Jenny said with a slightly abashed look. She cleared her throat and said, "Well, there you go, kids. And sorry for nearly getting you hurt. Until the criminals leave or get caught, don't go wandering out at night. Good luck in your travels."

Ash and Daisy gave their thanks as they got off the bike. Jenny gave them a nod and a wink before turning her motorcycle around and speeding on out of the Pokémon center.

"Hello, and welcome to the Viridian City Pokémon center," the nurse said with a smile, having forgotten about Officer Jenny bursting down the door. "I'm Nurse Joy, and I can heal your Pokémon for free. Would you like me to heal them right now?"

Ash looked around at Daisy, who gave him an encouraging nod. Then he looked around and said, "Yes please."

Nurse Joy waited until Ash brought her Pikachu and the PokéBall holding Pidgey. She took them to the side and said, "Don't worry. They'll get checked over and healed of status conditions like paralysis or poison. Please wait a few minutes until they're ready for you to pick them up. In the meantime, why don't you take a look around the Pokémon center?"

"That sounds great," Daisy said with a slight bow of her head. "And thank you, Nurse Joy."

"Yeah, thanks," Ash said as he did the same.

Suddenly, he remembered his mother telling him to call him whenever he went to another city or town. So he asked, "Can I use the phone please? I wanna call my mom to let her know I'm okay."

Nurse Joy nodded. "Of course you can. It's over across the room."

"Thanks."

So Ash headed over to the phone and started dialing his mother's phone number, which he kept in his backpack. Daisy and Pikachu stood next to him to see how it would turn out. Once Ash finished dialing the number, he waited until Delia's face appeared on the screen.

"Hey Mom," Ash greeted her.

"Ash!" Delia said with bright eyes and a smile. "I was getting worried about you! Did you make it to Viridian City okay?"

Ash nodded. "Yeah. And Daisy's joining me on my journey."

Delia noticed Daisy standing beside her son and smiled. "Daisy! How've you been?"

"Doing good, Mrs. Ketchum," Daisy replied.

"That's good. I'm happy someone's with Ash to keep an eye on him." Then Delia told Ash, "And I'm happy you made it to Viridian City this soon. It took your father four days to get there. He'd be proud of you if he were there right now."

Ash gave a small smile before looking away. He hadn't really seen his father for a very long time; he had only been two when his father apparently left. He didn't know when they would see him again, but he really wanted him to come home.

As if noticing his face, Daisy said, "Um...I'll leave you and your mom to talk. I gotta go deliver that...thing...I was talking about."

She walked off right away, leaving Ash to talk with his mother alone. As soon as Daisy was gone, Delia asked, "So how was your trip to Viridian City?"

"It was great," Ash told her. "I caught a Pokémon already! I got a Pidgey."

"That's great!" Delia exclaimed with a happy face. "You're on your way to becoming a great Pokémon trainer!"

Ash smiled. "Thanks, Mom. As long as nobody calls me stupid or a brat or anything," he added while looking down at his feet.

Delia's face turned from happy to worried. "Who told you that? Did Gary track you down and bully you?"

"I hadn't seen him since this morning," Ash said, and then he felt his body shiver from shame. "I met a girl who's a gym leader, and she yelled at me for messing up her fishing line. It was an accident, but I didn't mean to ruin her day."

"And Daisy stood up for you, right?" Delia asked. Ash nodded, and his mother continued, "I know that anyone would defend a good autistic kid, and I'd gladly welcome anyone who would do that into our house. But sometime later, you'll have to learn to defend yourself. You know, let them know how you feel about them insulting you. And I know you can do a great job at it."

Ash looked up from his feet. "You really think so, Mom?"

Delia nodded. "I KNOW so. I better go; the news is coming on soon. Good-night, sweetie, and be careful. I love you."

"Love you too, Mom," Ash said. Then he reached for the button to turn the video-phone off...and just in time too.

Once he was done, Daisy had come back to bring him over to the next room for dinner. Ash hadn't realized how hungry he was after today until he felt his stomach rumble. Always eager for dinner, he followed his friend, Pikachu trailing behind him and licking his lips.

**...**

Night had fallen over Viridian City. Ash and Daisy had their stomachs full from dinner and their Pokémon healed, for they had taken Officer Jenny's advice and stayed inside the Pokémon center, having finished dinner and getting into their rooms for the night, which were where the flight of stairs led to. They had chosen a room with two beds, a TV set, a small table, and a bathroom. Once they were done with their bath and shower, Ash and Daisy (and Pikachu and Eevee) settled into their beds and fell fast asleep.

Then the next day, Ash woke up early, ready to start the day. It was his second day as a Pokémon trainer, and he was going to enjoy it this time. He wanted to wake Daisy up so they could start, but Daisy was so serenely asleep that he decided not to bother her. So he dressed quietly, gathered Pikachu to him, and left the hotel room without making a sounds.

Ash and Pikachu had breakfast in the lobby before going out back to a training field. This was where trainers came to train with their Pokémon for upcoming battles, and Ash was eager to start. He released Pidgey from its PokéBall to let it stretch its wings and fly over the practice targets, happy to see it look free and happy from its ball.

"Pidgey, watch Pikachu hit that target and try the same," Ash told his newest Pokémon. "Keep on trying, and stop when you feel tired. Okay?"

"Coo-coo!" Pidgey chirped.

Pikachu gave a "PiKA!" and launched himself at the nearest target, headbutting it. Pidgey watched curiously before doing the same, diving down at it and colliding with it. She gave a chirp before doing it again and again, flapping her wings frantically as she got into the fighting spirit.

"Looks like you woke up without me," Daisy's voice rang out from behind him.

All three of them turned to look around at her. She had come out into a patch of early sunlight, her brown hair shining while Eevee walked beside her. For a moment, Ash was afraid that Daisy would be mad at him for not letting her know he would be gone. But he knew that she was a kindly person, slow to get mad and quick to be friendly.

"Morning, Daisy," Ash greeted her. "And sorry for getting up too early."

"Morning to you too," Daisy greeted him back. "And it's fine. So are you practicing for Brock's gym? Your Pikachu's Electric-type attacks won't work on his Geodude and Onix. But my Eevee knows a trick," she added with a wink. She turned to Eevee and said, "Show them, Eevee. Use Iron Tail on a target!"

"Eev. Eevee!" Eevee sprung at a target, her tail glowing white as she reached it. She spun around and slammed her tail onto the target, which rocked back as the force was applied to it. Then Eevee sprung back to Daisy, looking pleased with her efforts.

Daisy patted Eevee on the head and murmured praises to her before turning back to Ash. "And that's how it's done. Now Eevee will try again, and Pikachu can learn how to use it. Okay?"

"Okay!" Ash said with a smile. "Pikachu, watch what Eevee does. And then do what she does after she's finished."

Pikachu nodded. Eevee let out a cry before jumping forward and letting her tail glow white again. As she jumped for the target, Pikachu watched on, his eyes wide as she slammed her tail down hard on the target's head. Then Pikachu gave a shout before running towards the target, his tail glowing the same way Eevee's tail did, and jumped right at it. But as soon as he got to the target, his tail suddenly turned back to yellow

"That was kinda good," Daisy remarked. "But Pikachu's Iron Tail cancelled out just before it could hit the target. How about you ask him what's wrong?"

Ash bent down next to Pikachu and asked, "What's up, Pikachu?"

"Pika Pika," Pikachu explained, gesturing to his tail.

"It's like he can't contain the energy for long," Ash told Daisy. "He might get distracted."

At this, Daisy headed over to Pikachu and gave him a pat on the head, telling Ash, "It's like with autistic people; some Pokémon can get distracted or bored if they don't have much entertainment."

Recalling what he had eaten for dinner, Ash checked his bag. He had decided to keep a chocolate muffin for later and eat it as an afternoon snack. So he fished it out and asked, "Do treats count as entertainment?"

"It'll be good training," Daisy replied. "And I don't think chocolate is bad for Pikachu, but why not give him a berry as a training treat? I had some Oran berries packed for Eevee."

She reached into her pockets and fished out a couple of berries. They were small, round, and blue, as blue as a clean pond. Daisy picked one up and gave it to Ash, who held it out for Pikachu to try. Pikachu gave a sniff, took the berry from him, and gave it a big bite. Moments passed, and Pikachu's brown eyes lit up with joy as he chowed down on the rest of the berry, his cheeks crackling with electricity.

"That's the spirit!" Ash cheered. "Try Iron Tail again!"

Pikachu nodded and was just letting its tail glow white...when there was a mighty crash from not too far away. It startled Pikachu into letting its tail go back to normal and look around, ears pricked up.

"What was that?" Ash asked, feeling scared now.

Daisy looked towards the direction of the noise. "I don't know. Let's go find out, and keep your Pokémon out just in case."

**_To be continued..._**

**...**

**There you go, everyone! There's a break-in at the Pokémon center, and you'll find out what happens in the next chapter. If there's anything wrong with this chapter, let me know and I'll fix it, but PLEASE be polite about it. Is it rushed, or is it missing something? Let me know about it once you find anything wrong. Other than that, I hope you all like this chapter.**

**The training Pokémon with treats part is inspired by how people train dogs in the real world with treats. It might not always work, but it's better than nothing. Plus, they'll have a temporary traveling partner, and if you've watched the anime, you might know who it is. This one will cause a little bit of problems at first, but he/she will turn around sooner or later.**

**And like I said before, this will NOT be an AshXDaisy story...unless if you want that. In that case, I wouldn't have a problem with it.**

**See ya next time!**


	5. Crooks And A Talking Meowth

**Hey there, everyone, and welcome back to Journey Of An Autistic Trainer! Once again, I'd like to thank everyone for reviewing this story. This story has probably gotten the most reviews in a few days more than any other story of mine.**

**If you know who is gonna be showing up here, then you're a winner! Like I said before, they won't show up as much as they did in the anime. Did you know that they're more well-liked in Japan because of their comedy? I'm not that fussed by their antics, but hey, everyone's got their own sense of humor.**

**Okay, I've been giving too much information away. You're gonna find out who it is anyway. So on with the story.**

**Uploading Date: April 5, 2015 (Easter Sunday)**

**Enjoy!**

**...**

_**Crooks And A Talking Meowth**_

Just as Daisy said, Ash kept Pidgey out of her PokéBall, and Pidgey was on the lookout, soaring over them. They didn't know what burst into the Pokémon center, but they were prepared to fight this threat even if it was three Pokémon against many. Ash was getting more scared as they went down the hallway, so he stuck close to Daisy until they were at the lobby.

_I hope Nurse Joy's okay, _Ash thought worryingly. He hated to figure out what kind of horror was going on in the lobby, but he couldn't keep thinking about it.

When they got there, to their surprise, Misty was there, facing off against two people wearing white clothing with black gloves and black boots. One of them was a woman with long red hair and blue eyes, and the other was a man with short violet hair and green eyes. Accompanying them was a cat-like Pokémon, and Ash immediately took his Pokédex out of his pocket to see this Pokémon.

"_Meowth is the Scratch Cat Pokémon,_" the Pokédex rang out. "_It is nocturnal in nature. If it spots something shiny, its eyes glitter brightly._"

"You're not getting any of the Pokémon here!" Misty was yelling while confronting them.

"Such a fiery kid," the red-haired woman snickered with a sneer. "She honestly believes she can protect all those Pokémon?"

The blue-haired man gave Misty a leer. "You can't protect them forever," he sneered. "Get out of the way so we can get those Pokémon."

"And make it snappy!" the Meowth suddenly hissed. "We don't wait in lines!"

Ash and Daisy stared on in shock. Did they just hear a Pokémon talk? They had never heard one talk before, and they wondered how come no other Pokémon could talk like this Meowth. But just then, the people in the uniforms started speaking.

"Prepare for trouble!"

"And make it double!"

"To protect the world from devastation!"

"To unite all peoples within our nation!"

"To denounce the evils of truth and love!"

"To extend our reach to the stars above!"

"Jessie!" the redheaded woman announced.

"James!" the violet-haired man added.

"Team Rocket! Blasting off at the speed of light!"

"Surrender now, or prepare to fight!"

"Meowth! That's right!" the Meowth added.

"So this is Team Rocket," Daisy murmured.

Ash turned to her. "Team Rocket?"

Daisy nodded. "I've heard of this group," she explained. "They're this organization who steal trainers' Pokémon for profit. That including treating them badly."

"What?!" Ash exclaimed. "That's terrible!"

"Who said that?" James asked, turning around.

Too late, Ash felt like his feet were rooted to the ground. Daisy stood between them and Ash to hide her friend, but they already spotted him.

"Hasn't anyone told you to butt out of other people's business?" Jessie asked with a hint of a growl in her tone.

"But you're stealing Pokémon," Ash piped up. "Isn't stealing wrong?"

James chuckled. "When you've been with Team Rocket for a long time, stealing's as natural as breathing. Isn't that right, Jessie?"

"That's right, James," Jessie replied, and the two gave sinister snickers.

"Alright, quit the snickerin', you two!" Meowth piped up. "We got Pokémon robbin' to do!"

They stopped and nodded before throwing out two PokéBalls. Out of them came two purple Pokémon: one looked like a long purple snake with yellow eyes and a yellow rattle on its tail, and the other looked like a bumpy floating purple ball with gas around it. Curious despite himself, Ash took the time to take out his Pokédex to examine these newcomers.

_"Ekans is the Snake __Pokémon. It sneaks through grass without making a sound and strikes unsuspecting prey from behind,_" the Pokédex informed. Then he turned it to the other Pokémon so it could say, "_Koffing is the Poison Gas Pokémon. Lighter-than-air gases in its body keep it aloft. The gases not only smell, they are also explosive._"

"Ash, you might want to put that away," Daisy warned him. "Don't get distracted in a battle."

"Oh...okay," Ash said, closing his Pokédex and putting it in his pocket.

Looking like she was getting fed up, Jessie snapped. "Enough with this chatter! Ekans, attack that kid with Bite!"

Ekans hissed and, rearing itself up, lunged at Ash. Ash himself was rooted to the spot in terror, not knowing what to do. Was this how his time as a Pokémon trainer and his life would end?

"Don't you DARE!" Daisy suddenly spat. "Eevee, Tackle Ekans away from Ash!"

Eevee darted forward, barrelling into Ekans' chest and knocking it back towards Jessie. The snake Pokémon hissed angrily and turned its anger on Eevee, trying to intimidate her with bared fangs.

"You wanna tussle!" Meowth sneered in Ash's direction. "Then you better tink of somethin' fast!"

He let his claws slide out before jumping at Ash. Thinking quick, Ash yelled, "Pikachu, Thundershock!"

"PiiikaaaCHU!" Pikachu yelled, sending electricity out of his cheeks and at Meowth. The Scratch Cat Pokémon got caught by the attack, electrocuted and yelping in pain.

When it was over, Meowth shook his charred body and snarled, "I was goin' easy on you, twerp! But you just had to push my buttons! Get ready for my Fury Swipes!"

He jumped at Pikachu now and gave a fierce swipe at his side. Pikachu gave a squeal of pain and jumped away, three long red marks on his body. Meowth smirked and jumped again just when Ash yelled, "Pidgey, Tackle Meowth away!"

Pidgey gave a cry from above and dived at Meowth, her talons ready to strike and her beak stuck out. Meowth tried to dodge out of the way, but Pidgey was faster, striking him and sending him away from Pikachu. But as she did that, a passing of gas from Koffing stunned the bird in her tracks and made her cough. Now Koffing emerged from the gas and tackled Pidgey head-on, forcing her to fall back. With an angry chirp, Pidgey brought her wings together and sent forth a powerful gust of wind, carrying Koffing with it and bringing him crashing into the wall.

"Pidgey!" Ash called. "You learned a new move! It's Gust!"

As Pidgey was crowing happily, Ekans lunged from the ground and bit onto her body, making her go from happy to panicked as she was slammed to the floor. Ekans was rearing up to bite its new target when a brown shape spun towards it and knocked it upside its head. Standing before them was what looked like a star with a gem at its center. Ash didn't have time to check his Pokédex and see what this Pokémon was, for it jumped back into battle, commanded by Misty.

In the meantime, Eevee was dodging this way and that away from Ekans' fangs. Ekans used a Poison Sting, catching Eevee on the left hind foot, and she was slowed down as she growled in pain. Then with a glowing tail, Eevee jumped at Ekans and brought an Iron Tail down onto its head, its victory tainted a little by its injured foot. Pikachu then helped her out by firing a Thundershock at Ekans, making it slither to Koffing and Meowth's side.

"These kids are tough!" James growled. "And this is such a waste of our time!"

Jessie snorted in disdain. "You know what? Let's go somewhere else and continue our mission."

"We'll be back later, twerps, and don't you forget it. See ya in the not-too-distant future!" Meowth added.

As soon as Meowth was finished, James called, "Use Smokescreen, Koffing!"

"Koffing!" the Poison-type exclaimed, belching out foul-smelling smoke.

The smoke billowed out through the room, leaving them coughing and unable to see anything. A gust from Pidgey's wings cleared away the smoke, and Jessie, James, Meowth, and the Poison-type Pokémon were gone. It was only a few moments of stunned silence before anyone finally managed to speak up.

"Thanks for helping me out back there," Misty told Ash and Daisy, recalling her star-shape Pokémon to its PokéBall. "My Starmie had been knocked out before I got here, so I had only Staryu with me."

"No problem," Ash said. "Did I get tougher, Daisy?"

Daisy smiled and nodded. "Yep. And you'll get even tougher if you win more battles."

Ash patted Pikachu on the head and said, "I know. And I'm gonna try hard."

"Okay, that's enough congratulating for one night," Misty interrupted, going over to an injured Nurse Joy and holding her up. "Now can someone give me a hand here?"

"It's okay...are the Pokémon all right?" Nurse Joy rasped, holding her stomach.

Daisy went behind the counter to find out. A minute later, she came back out and said, "Yes. They're all rattled from Team Rocket, but they're not hurt."

Nurse Joy smiled weakly. "Thanks. Now someone call one of my sisters. To check on everyone here."

**...**

The next day, Nurse Joy had made a slow but steady recovery thanks to her sister. One of the Team Rocket members had shoved her hard in the stomach, but it wasn't enough to make her permanently injured. As for the Pokémon in the center, the tamed ones were returned safely to their trainers, and the wild ones were released back into the wild. And once Nurse Joy was well enough, she was able to heal Ash, Daisy, and Misty's Pokémon.

"There you go. They're all safe," she told them once she gave them Pikachu and their Pokémon. "And again, thank you so much for helping defend the Pokémon here. Have a safe journey."

Pikachu immediately jumped from Nurse Joy's arms into Ash's arms, snuggling close to him. Ash felt better after having his starter with him, and he saw that Professor Oak was right: Pikachu was like a therapy Pokémon for him, sharing his happiness and being there for him when he was sad.

"You ready to go, Ash?" Daisy asked, taking Eevee's PokéBall.

Ash took Pidgey's PokéBall and said, "Yeah. Pewter City, here we come!"

"You said you're going to Pewter City, right?" Misty asked from beside them. "Can I come along? I was gonna go home anyway."

Not sure what to do, Ash looked around at Daisy as if asking for permission. There were no words needed, for Daisy gave a nod, and Ash looked back around at Misty, who hung back and was waiting for an answer.

"I guess," Ash said, looking around at Daisy.

His older friend smiled more jovially. "She can come along," she said. "The more, the merrier."

"Thanks!" Misty exclaimed, going over to playfully punch Ash's shoulder. But Ash shied away from her; he had barely known her, and he hated being touched by people he barely knew.

"I won't mind...except one thing," Daisy said. "Misty, while we go on this trip, don't yell at Ash. He's sensitive to yelling, and that won't help him learn stuff. If you do, you can go to Cerulean City all by yourself."

Misty gave a firm nod in agreement.

Once they were dressed, the bags were packed, and breakfast was eaten, Ash, Daisy, and Misty were walking through the city to go north. They had passed by the Viridian City gym, and Ash saw from the previous day that Daisy was right. There was a guard standing in front of it, which meant that the gym was apparently closed. He hoped to come back and face the gym leader there one day.

The three travelers had finally reached the Viridian Forest, a big area full of trees and, well, more trees. Ash was getting a little tired from all the walking, and Pikachu was there to offer him morale by talking to him in his own language. He couldn't understand what Pikachu was saying, but he wished he did; he seemed to have a lot of stories to tell. When he was trailing behind due to getting tired out, Misty was looking too impatient to wait while Daisy trailed behind and helped him out.

Just then, a scream from up ahead of them made them glance up quickly. Misty was frozen to the spot, her blue-green eyes wide with fear and her legs trembling as she stared into some bushes.

"Misty?" Daisy asked. "What's wrong?"

"It's a bug!" Misty shrieked. "It's a disgusting slimy bug! Get it away from me!"

"What bug?" Ash asked curiously.

Misty pointed to the bushes while hiding behind Daisy, and Ash followed where she was pointing. There was a little green caterpillar-like Pokémon with pink antennae, staring up at them with huge eyes. Ash didn't understand what she was talking about; it looked cute to him. So he took out his Pokédex to see what kind of Pokémon it was.

"_Caterpie is the Worm Pokémon. It releases a stench from its antennae to repel enemies. It grows by molting repeatedly._"

"Cool," Ash said, looking into the Caterpie's eyes. "I'm gonna catch it!"

"Just like that?" Misty asked with disbelief, though she still looked scared. "Haven't you learned about-"

But Daisy stopped her with a look before looking back at Ash. The young trainer turned his red-and-white cap back and took out a PokéBall so that he was set into a battle pose, Pikachu standing beside him. He was so eager to catch a new Pokémon that he was going to throw a PokéBall at it, not caring if it was too strong to break out.

"PokéBall, GO!"

**_To be continued..._**

**...**

**There you go, everyone. I hope you all like this chapter...and how Team Rocket is portrayed here. If there's anything you don't like about this chapter, let me know, and I'll fix it. But PLEASE be polite about it.**

**The next chapter will be kinda interesting. First, Ash will get Caterpie and another Pokémon not usually found in the Viridian Forest. Second, there's gonna be conflict here, and it's gonna put a strain on Daisy and Misty's friendship. That's why Daisy would be a good travelling companion; she's nice and very pretty, but she can also be deadly when pushed. Kinda like Opal Beifong from The Legend Of Korra; she's kind and cute, but she's got the awesome Beifong gene.**

**See ya next time! And Happy Easter!**


	6. Two Pokémon In One Go

**Hey there, everyone, and welcome back to Journey Of An Autistic Trainer! As of this chapter, because of the content here, I am officially changing the rating of this story from K+ to T. You'll see why in a moment.**

**Now in this chapter, this might look like Misty bashing, but it won't be, really. And if it IS, then I apologize. Yes, in the anime, Ash was being a bit of a cocky kid, but Misty's reaction doesn't help. She acted as if it was unforgivable to pit a Caterpie against a Pidgeotto when any other when any other starting trainer could make the same mistake. That's gonna change in this story (but I am NOT rewriting anime).**

**By the way, a reviewer asked me to NOT make Daisy a Mary Sue. So if anyone sees any sign of Daisy being a Mary Sue, PLEASE let me know. And now, back to our feature presentation.**

**Uploading Date: April 5, 2015**

**Enjoy!**

**...**

_**Two Pokémon In One Go**_

As the ball was thrown, Caterpie didn't even attempt to move. Instead, it stood blinking at the foreign object coming its way. Then it was hit in the head by the ball and sucked inside, where it seemed to struggle to escape its new confines.

Ash, Pikachu, Daisy, and Misty waited for a few moments for Caterpie to either give up or burst out. In the end, there was a _ding!_, and it was over.

"Yes!" Ash cheered. "We caught a Caterpie!"

"Pika Pikachu!" Pikachu chanted, hopping up and down.

Daisy smiled brightly. "Great job! I heard they're easy to raise!"

Only Misty didn't look happy. She still looked scared as she said, "That's great and all, but just keep it away from me!"

"Why don't you like bug Pokémon?" Daisy asked curiously.

"Why _do _you?" Misty asked. "Isn't every girl scared of bugs?"

Daisy rolled her eyes. "First, that's a stereotype. And second, that Caterpie was pretty cute."

"And I like seeing bugs out of their PokéBalls," Ash said, holding the PokéBall like a favorite treat.

Misty muttered something Ash and Daisy didn't hear. But Pikachu apparently did with a twitch of his ears.

Deciding to let Caterpie out, Ash pressed the button in the middle of his new Pokémon's ball, and Caterpie came out. The reaction from Misty was clear; as soon as Caterpie looked at her, the redhead bolted away from it and hid behind a tree.

But Caterpie had already spotted her and hurried over to the tree the best it could to greet her. Frozen on the spot, Misty could only watch as the little bug started crawling on her leg. She shook it off and ran for another tree.

"Looks like he likes you," Ash called helpfully.

"That's not helping!" Misty snapped.

Ash frowned. "Seriously? Caterpie's a cute little guy. Why can't you and him be friends?"

"I'd sooner smooch a Gyarados than be friends with a bug!" came the agitated reply. "They're one of the three most disgusting things in the whole world!"

"Really?" Daisy asked in a curious tone. "What are the other two disgusting things?"

Misty stuck her head out from behind the tree. "Those other things are carrots and peppers! Everyone has something they don't like, and bugs is one of them!"

"I don't like peppers, but I like carrots," Ash said. He noticed Caterpie looking dejected from the rejection and said, "And I think you're hurting his feelings."

"I like you, Caterpie," Daisy told Caterpie, bending down and holding out a hand. "Maybe in time, Misty will too."

"No I won't!" Misty called from her brief safe haven.

Caterpie gave a little coo and inched his way over to Daisy's hand, which started gently patting him. The little worm Pokémon had a look of content on his face as he seemed to close his eyes lazily.

"Pika..." Pikachu was looking happy at seeing Caterpie happy.

Later on at night, Ash, Daisy, and Misty had decided to rest for the night and continue in the morning. Misty had made sure she slept away from the others since she was still scared of Caterpie, but Ash was really sure he would get them to be friends soon. He wasn't the most social of kids, but he always valued friendship. But while the humans were sleeping for the night, Pikachu saw something come out of Ash's sleeping bag.

Caterpie was crawling out, a dispirited look on his face as he inched his way over to the stump in the center of the clearing. Once he reached it, he started inching his way up it and reached the top in a few minutes, looking up at the moon. With a knowing sigh, Pikachu decided to help out; of course he was Ash's therapy Pokémon, but that wouldn't stop him from helping others.

"Pika Pika? (Hey Caterpie. What's up?)" Pikachu asked, jumping up onto the stump beside Caterpie.

"Cater...Caterpie? (Why doesn't the red-haired girl like me?)" Caterpie asked with a sigh.

Pikachu wrapped his tail around the smaller Pokémon. "Pika. Pikachu. Pika Pika. (That's how she is, apparently. You'll be fine with Ash and Daisy.)"

Caterpie looked up at the sky. "Cater... (Yeah...)" Then a few moments passed by before he went on, "Cater. Caterpie. Pie. (I hope to evolve into a Butterfree one day. Free and light and cute. Then the redheaded human will show me respect.)"

"Eev. Eevee. (What're you two doing up so late?)?" Pikachu and Caterpie looked down at Eevee looking up at them as they sat on the stump.

"Pikachu (Just talking)," Pikachu said, hopping off the stump. He curled up next to Eevee and called to Caterpie, "Pika! (Good-night!)"

**...**

A scream the next morning made Ash look up quickly from his sleep, Pikachu rising beside him. Misty was once again dashing away from Caterpie, who was staring after her with a curious look.

"What're you doing out of your PokéBall, Caterpie?" Ash asked. "And where's Daisy?"

"She told me she left our bags behind," Misty grumbled. "And the sooner that bug gets in its PokéBall, the happier I'll be!"

Ash frowned. "Aw, don't be that way," he said. "You're hurting Caterpie's feelings."

Misty glared down at Caterpie. "I don't care! Just keep it away from me!"

"Okay," Ash said, recalling Caterpie to his PokéBall. "I'm gonna find another Pokémon before Daisy gets back."

So he headed off into the bushes, wandering aimlessly around for a little while. Pikachu was walking beside him and sniffing the air as if trying to catch an unfamiliar scent. And Misty was tagging along, but she did NOT look happy at all; in fact, she looked like she was going to clobber Ash if he even dared release Caterpie from his ball. Finally, they encountered the closest Pokémon they could find.

It looked something like a little purple rabbit with spikes on its body, a horn on its forehead, and large ears. It was nibbling on some grass before noticing the humans and getting into a defending position.

"Nido!" it growled.

Curious as ever, Ash took his Pokédex out, and it read, "_Nidoran Male is the Poison Pint __Pokémon. It scans its surroundings by sticking its ears out of the grass. Its toxic horn is for protection."_

Ash was impressed. "That's a cool-looking Pokémon," he said as he took out a PokéBall.

"You don't get it, do you?!" Misty snapped, forcing Ash to drop the ball in shock. "You need to weaken it before you catch it!"

"I know," Ash mumbled, and he was starting to get scared from her yelling. "I battled a Pidgey and caught it."

Misty's angry face didn't relax. "Then battle that Nidoran! Duh!"

With a small gulp, Ash tossed out Caterpie's PokéBall, and Caterpie came out, looking confused. It suddenly noticed Nidoran in front of it and got into a battle stance, ready to fight.

"Caterpie, Tackle!" Ash yelled.

Caterpie did so and ran towards the Nidoran, hitting it hard in the side. But he suddenly reeled back, crying out in pain, as one of the barbs dug into its skin. Seeing this, Ash held up the ball and returned Caterpie. Just as he did, though, Pikachu came darting out into the clearing to confront Nidoran.

"Pikachu, Thundershock!" Ash called.

Pikachu complied and sent a jolt of electricity at Nidoran, who growled from the damage it took. Despite looking weakened, it still had enough fight in it left and tackled Pikachu away. But then, the Static ability took affect, and Ash threw a ball out, yelling, "PokéBall, go!" The Nidora got sucked inside, and the ball wriggled wildly around before finally coming to a halt.

"Wow...we got a Nidoran!" Ash exclaimed, holding up the PokéBall. "Our fourth Pokémon already! I'm on my way to being a good trainer!"

"No you're not! You're a TERRIBLE trainer!" Misty spat, getting into his face.

Ash recoiled, scared out of his wits, as tears came to his eyes. "What'd I do?"

Misty snapped, "That's exactly it! You don't know what you're doing! Pitting your Pokémon against a Pokémon with the Poison Point ability. It'll take a long time for you to become a great trainer!"

Now Ash couldn't take it anymore as he started crying from shame. "I-I was trying to-"

"Stop crying right now!" Misty snarled. "And you should TRY to learn something about Pokémon first! With Pokémon you've got to use strategy! That Nidoran had the Poison Point ability! Caterpie wouldn't last long while being poisoned!"

"B-But they'd be good in time, r-right?" Ash tried to say through a cracked voice.

In response, Misty jabbed a finger right in his face, yelling, "NO! It's not going to work just because you work hard enough! A Pokémon trainer's judgement is more important than anything else in the world, and sadly for you, a trainer has to not be a stupid autistic trainer like YOU!"

That was enough for Ash to really break down. In response, Pikachu jumped up and bit Misty hard on the hand, making her yelp in shock. The electric rodent jumped away and started licking Ash's cheek comfortingly while giving Misty a hateful glare.

"What's going on?"

They all spun around at the new voice. Daisy had come back with both bags in tow. When she spotted Ash crying, she dropped the bags and ran over to him, trying in vain to give him a hug.

"Ash, what's wrong? What happened?" Daisy asked soothingly. Then looking at the bite mark on Misty's hand, she asked, "What bit you?"

"Pikachu did!" Misty exclaimed.

Daisy's eyes were wide as she stared around at Pikachu. "What? Why?" Then when she saw Ash trying to get away from Misty, she noticed the angry look her friend had on her face. "Misty, what did you do to Ash?" she asked, her face now tense. "What did you say to him?"

"I was telling Ash he was too stupid to learn how to catch a Pokémon properly!" Misty snorted with contempt, recovering from Pikachu biting her. "Ash may have fooled you with his autism act, but he doesn't fool me! He should just give up being a trainer, and-"

POW!

Daisy had apparently heard enough and punched Misty very hard in the face. The Cerulean City gym leader stumbled back and stared back at her in shock, a hand on the spot where she was punched.

"How dare you, Misty. How DARE you say something like this to him," Daisy rasped, anger breaking her voice at every word. "And did you call his condition an ACT?! What Ash is feeling right now is NOT an act! You had NO right telling all that to him! Autistic people are sensitive to loud noises, especially yelling! You may call yourself smart, but you know absolutely NOTHING about autism! And gym leaders aren't supposed to demoralize trainers like that! It could seriously scar him for life! But you don't care." Then she spun around and walked away, saying, "And you know what? You can go to Cerulean City all by yourself! I'm going with Ash to Pewter City whether you like it or not!"

"But what about the bugs?" Misty called behind her.

Daisy glared around at her. "Tough luck! And goodbye!"

She then stalked off to where Ash was trying to dry his tears. Pikachu was on his lap, trying to lick the tears away from his face, but they just kept flowing, even soaking Pikachu's fur. With a sad look, Daisy sat down on the log next to him, trying to hug him.

"Don't touch me," Ash sobbed, trying to shrug her away. "M-Misty was r-r-right. I-I'm the stupidest trainer ever!"

"Hey, don't listen to her. And please stop crying," Daisy told him soothingly, getting a handkerchief and drying his eyes. "You're not a terrible trainer, and you're not stupid. How could she say all that to you?"

Ash finally accepted her help as she dried the rest of his face. "I-I was just trying to catch a Nidoran. And I did. But it's my fault C-Caterpie got hurt."

Daisy reached into her bag and pulled out what looked like a purple spray bottle. "Can you get Caterpie out, please?" she asked kindly.

He nodded and sent Caterpie out, and the poor little worm was wincing from the poison. Daisy picked him up and gently sprayed the bottle onto the wound Nidoran had left behind, and Caterpie winced a little from the sting, but the potion was already doing its work. The poisoned wound soon faded away, and Caterpie was soon feeling a lot better, even cheering Ash up by rubbing against his leg.

"You see? Caterpie knows that you never wanted it to get hurt," Daisy told Ash warmly with a smile. "And just because you made one mistake doesn't mean it's the end of the world. Whenever someone makes a mistake, the best you can do is learn from it and try not to make it again in the future. But Misty really was no help in teaching you that."

"You could be right," Ash mumbled. "But Misty-"

"Is _wrong_," Daisy interrupted fiercely. "You can't give up on this journey. I'll help you every step of the way, Ash. I promise."

Finally, Ash could feel a small if teary-eyed smile come over his face. He gave Daisy a big hug and mumbled, "Thanks, Daisy. I'm happy to have a friend like you."

"Pika Pika!" Pikachu asked, adding the other "Pika!" in a teasing tone.

"You too, buddy," Ash told Pikachu with a smile. As his starter jumped onto his lap and started to cuddle, he said, "And I promise I won't let anything bad happen to you two."

Then he looked down to see something strange: Caterpie was spinning silk around itself while glowing, to the surprise of the humans. When it was done, Caterpie was finally covered by what appeared to be a green hard shell with eyes looking up at Ash.

"Metapod!" "Caterpie" said.

Surprised, Ash took out his Pokédex and scanned the Pokémon. "_Metapod is the Cocoon __Pokémon, and it evolves from Caterpie. A steel-hard shell protects its tender body. It quietly endures hardships while awaiting evolution._"

"Wow...Caterpie evolved!" Ash exclaimed happily, walking over and bending down to pet the excited Metapod. "A Pokémon of mine actually evolved!"

Daisy gave him a warm smile. "That's awesome, Ash! Bug-types are usually easy to train! If you train it well, it'll be a Butterfree before you know it!"

_**To be continued...**_

**...**

**Finally, we're done with this chapter! Two chapters in one day; I guess there's TWO meanings to this chapter. And I hope you all like it. If there's something wrong here, let me know, and I'll fix it. By the way, below will be a list of the ****Pokémon our travelers have.**

**And yeah, I added in Ash's sensitivity to yelling. It's something I have in real life, and it's still around even after I'm an adult. The last time I was scolded harshly was from my brother-in-law on Christmas Eve in 2013, and my mom got really mad at him. Daisy's reaction to Misty bullying Ash reflects what my mom told my sister's husband. And again, this will NOT be a Misty bashing; she'll come around.**

**Ash's Team: Pikachu (Thundershock, Growl, Tail Whip, trying to learn Iron Tail), Pidgey (Tackle, Gust, Sand Attack), Metapod (Tackle, String Shot, Harden), Nidoran Male (Peck, Leer, Focus Energy)**

**Daisy's Team: Eevee (Tackle, Iron Tail, Helping Hand, Tail Whip), new ****Pokémon revealed next chapter**

**See ya next time! And again, Happy Easter!**


	7. The Samurai's Challenge

**Hey there, everyone, and welcome back to Journey Of An Autistic Trainer! This next chapter will be very interesting...because I've heard many people complaining about the episode Challenge Of The Samurai. And I agree with them.**

**I did not like that Samurai, and I bet many people didn't either. Ash had to learn a lesson for something that wasn't his fault because of that guy. Sure, you gotta finish what you start, but the Samurai should not have been the one to talk. And Misty didn't say anything about it either. To the people who said that it did look like Misty bashing in the previous chapter, I am REALLY sorry, and I hope I didn't offend her fans. I'll add more to the apology at the end of the chapter.**

**So for now, let's get on with the story.**

**Uploading Date: April 7, 2015**

**Enjoy!**

**...**

_**The Samurai's Challenge**_

Now that he was feeling a little better, Ash had wanted to continue journeying, but he had wanted to stop for some lunch. So they stopped in the middle of another clearing and released their Pokémon to enjoy the great outdoors. Nidoran was new to the group, so he had a little bit of trouble being with other Pokémon at first, but he got into the hang of things after Pikachu was the first to greet him warmly.

But Ash was still shaken by all what Misty had yelled at him about. Despite whatever Daisy told him, he felt worse from how she was in his face and poking a finger at him. Pikachu was sitting by his side the entire time, rubbing his leg with a sympathetic look, and he reached down to pat him to calm his nerves. Thanks to Daisy's comforting presence and Pikachu's aid, he was able to finish his lunch in peace.

A sudden rustling in the bushes made Ash and Daisy pack up their belongings and recall their Pokémon. They edged closer towards the rustling only for a small Pokémon to waddle out. It was a worm like Caterpie, but it was an orange color with a big purple nose, a stinger on the top of its head, and a stinger at its rear end. Ash decided to check it out with his Pokédex.

"_Weedle is the Hairy Bug Pokémon. It eats its weight in leaves every day. It fends off attackers with the stinger on its head._"

"I'm glad you love that Pokédex," Daisy said, amused. "Why don't you become a Pokémon scientist or professor like my grandpa sometime?"

"That sounds cool. But I wanna try to be a great trainer first." Ash tossed out a PokéBall, saying, "Nidoran, I choose you!"

Nidoran came out of his PokéBall, getting into a battle stance and ready for action. The Weedle had noticed Nidoran staring at it and quivered its body in amusement, and Ash had the feeling that it was mocking him.

"Nidoran! Peck!" Ash called.

"Nido!" the Poison Pin Pokémon yelled and hopped over to Weedle. He gave Weedle a big jab with his horn, making the bug Pokémon squeal in pain as it was sent flying towards a tree. The Peck attack must have had weakened it a lot.

But just as Ash pulled out a PokéBall to catch the Weedle, a yell behind him made him spin around quickly. A boy in samurai armor had burst out of the bushes, holding a sword right in front of Daisy, who had jumped back with surprise.

"Greetings, fair maiden," the boy greeted her with his sword a little bit towards her face. "Are you, by chance, the Pokémon trainer who comes from Pallet?"

Daisy, who looked very startled from the sword at her face, gulped. "I'm _from _Pallet, but I'm not much of a trainer."

The samurai took his sword away and said, "I apologize. Alas, my search continues." Then he noticed Ash and pointed his sword at him, yelling, "Greetings! Are you, by chance, the Pokémon trainer who comes from Pallet?"

Ash, feeling a little scared, muttered, "Y-Yeah, I'm a trainer from Pallet. But I'm busy catching this Weedle." At this, he started to turn around when he heard a yell from behind him, and the samurai appeared to have not heard him, pointing his sword at him.

"Don't point that sword at him! Point it somewhere else!" Daisy protested, but Samurai didn't seem to hear her.

"Look, there's no use taking this Pokémon," Ash said. "I was gonna catch it."

"I am no thief!" the samurai kid snapped.

"Who are you then?" Daisy asked suspiciously.

The samurai kid pulled his sword away and declared loudly, "I AM SAMURAI! I am also shrewd, fearless, and invincible in combat! I have been searching the forest for you!"

Ash didn't move away from the bushes. "So what do you want?"

"A Pokémon match!" Samurai answered. "Let us see who triumphs!"

Ash and Daisy gave each other awkward glances, and Pikachu made a disbelieving noise in his throat. Suddenly, he turned with a "Pi Pika!", and they looked around. The Weedle was already crawling away up a tree, and Ash threw a PokéBall towards it quickly. However, the Weedle swatted it aside and continued on its way until it disappeared, leaving Ash glaring around at Samurai.

"I could've caught that Weedle if you hadn't distracted me," he snapped.

Samurai snorted in disdain. "Ha! Don't blame your failures on me! Your Pokémon handling is dim-witted and-"

"Excuse me?" Daisy had interrupted him, anger on her face as she rested a hand on Ash's shoulder. "Who's the one who distracted Ash? And who's the one pointing swords at us?"

"Wait!" Ash called, stepping in between them. "Look, if you want to battle, then we can do it."

Samurai snickered and threw out a PokéBall. Out of it came a large brown two-legged Pokémon with a gaping mouth and two large horn-like pincers on its head. It gave a growl and leered in Ash's direction, and Pikachu easily laid his tail on his shoulder to calm him down. Once he was okay, Ash took out his Pokédex to check out the new Pokémon.

"_Pinsir is the Stag Beetle Pokémon. It grips prey with its pincers until the prey is torn in half. What it can't tear, it tosses far._"

_T-Torn in half? _Ash thought in horror. He couldn't stomach the thoughts of seeing all four of his Pokémon torn to shreds.

"Pidgey, I choose you!" Ash yelled, tossing out her ball.

Pidgey burst forth from the ball, giving Pinsir a loud cry before beating her wings ferociously. But Pinsir looked unimpressed with its opponent and leered down at the smaller Pokémon.

"This will be a two-on-two Pokémon battle between Ash Ketchum and Samurai!" Daisy called, standing a little away from them. "Whichever side gets both Pokémon knocked out loses! And...BEGIN!"

"Pinsir, Vicegrip!" Samurai yelled.

With a grunt, Pinsir leaped at Pidgey, its pincers gleaming in the sunlight. Ash remembered with panic what the Pokédex told him; if he didn't react, he would be seeing his Pokémon's corpse right there and then.

"Pidgey, dodge around it and use Tackle!" Ash called.

Pidgey nodded and fluttered around the best she could around Pinsir, earning a grunt of confusion from the bug. Once she was in range, Pidgey tackled it from behind, but it whirled around to leer angrily at her.

"That doesn't bother Pinsir!" Samurai gloated. "Now use Bind!"

Pinsir lunged forward, grabbing Pidgey in its arms and squeezing. Just as Ash was worrying for his Pokémon's safety, Pidgey whacked Pinsir in the face with her wing and managed to flutter away from the bug Pokémon's flailing pincers. Ash knew his Pokémon couldn't last that long as long as it was smaller than the Pinsir, so he called, "Pidgey, you deserve a good rest! Return!" and recalled Pidgey to her PokéBall.

"Hahaha!" Samurai laughed. "Looks like my Pinsir was too much for that puny Pidgey! I have fought Magikarp tougher than you! Call our your next Pokémon!"

Ash looked around at Pikachu; he could work, but he could be as easy to be torn apart as Pidgey would be. Nidoran could also work, but his physical attacks wouldn't do much against its tough hide.

_Wait a minute...tough hide? That's it! _Making up his mind, Ash held out a PokéBall and called, "I'm getting started! Metapod, I choose you!" As soon as Metapod came out, ready for battle, he called, "Metapod, Harden!"

Metapod nodded and hardened himself until his shell was shiny and hard. Pinsir had sprung forth and gripped Metapod hard, intending on squeezing the life out of it. But what Ash had hoped for came true: the spuds on Pinsir's pincers had broken off, and the large Bug-type released Metapod, stepping back and grunting in pain.

"Now Tackle!" Ash yelled.

With a grunt of his own, Metapod jumped forward and tackled Pinsir right in its chest. The Stag Beetle Pokémon fell flat on its back, apparently spent from all the energy it used during the match.

"Not bad, novice!" Samurai called, recalling Pinsir. "But here's one of my best Pokémon! Metapod, go!"

_Another Metapod? _Ash wondered in confusion. Yet there it was, looking just like Ash's own Metapod from the green shell to the same determined expression. He even briefly wondered what would happen if both Metapod got mixed up during the fight.

"Now Metapod, Harden!" Samurai yelled. And Metapod did just that.

"Two can play this game!" Ash yelled back. "Metapod, use YOUR harden!"

Metapod nodded and did it too. Seeing this, Daisy slapped a hand to her face. "Oh no...this match will take forever," she moaned.

Pikachu nodded, doing the same as Daisy.

"Harden!" Samurai yelled.

"Harden too!" Ash called.

"Wait!" Daisy suddenly yelled. When Ash and Samurai looked around at her, she pointed towards the trees up ahead and went on, "What's going on over there?"

While they looked on, Ash noticed something moving from the trees and gasped. A group of Bug-type cocoon Pokémon were wriggling until large bees started emerging before suddenly diving down from the branches, but they didn't look friendly. They looked like big bees diving down at them. He was able to take out his Pokédex, which told him, _"Beedrill is the Poison Bee Pokémon. Its best attack involves flying around at high speed, striking with poison needles, then flying off."_

"Now's not the time for education," Daisy told him, pulling him back.

"A Beedrill swarm! Our match must end! Metapod, return!" Samurai declared, holding up his PokéBall. Once his Metapod was safe and sound, he added, "The Weedle you battled earlier must have informed the rest of its kind! Good day!"

And he started running off as fast as he could. Just while Ash and Daisy watched Samurai run off, a loud cry made Ash spin around and gasp in shock: his own Metapod had been left in the middle of the grassy field, and a Beedrill had gone down from the swarm and scooped the Cocoon Pokémon up.

"Wait!" Ash ran forth and held up the PokéBall, calling, "Metapod, return!"

But the Beedrill was darting left to right, avoiding the red beams of light from the ball. It was too fast for Ash to get his Metapod back in the ball, and he was feeling frustrated.

"Hold on, Metapod!" Ash yelled. "Pikachu, Thundershock on that Beedrill!"

"PikaCHUUU!" Pikachu squeaked, firing a bolt of electricity up at the Beedrill. But just like with the PokéBall, Beedrill was too fast for a strike to land. However, an unlucky Beedrill or two got caught off guard and were electrocuted, falling down onto the ground, dazed and paralyzed.

Ash was just going to call another attack when Daisy grabbed his hand, calling, "We can battle later, Ash! Let's go!"

"But what about Metapod?" Ash asked worryingly.

Daisy's face was sympathetic as she said, "We'll get him back later. But for now, we better go."

Ash gave a sigh as Pikachu came up beside him, jumping up onto his shoulder. Daisy was right; now was not a good time to go into the middle of the swarm. So he ran after Daisy towards where Samurai had fled. But as they ran, Ash had tripped over a root and fell to the ground, just in time for the swarm to fly over him and spot him. They were just reaching him, and Ash was paralyzed with fear, when a voice called out of nowhere.

"Starmie, Water Pulse!"

A big blast of water fired from out of nowhere and caught the leading Beedrill on the wing. The other Beedrill stared on in shock before swarming over angrily to what looked like Staryu but was purple and looked like there was another Staryu attached to it. While Daisy was busy battling, Ash looked around in surprise to see Misty commanding Starmie in battle despite looking scared.

"Misty?!" Ash called. "What're you doing here?!"

"Saving you, that's what!" came Misty's reply. "Now let's go!"

Ash looked up at the one Beedrill carrying the struggling Metapod away. He wanted to chase after the swarm and get his Pokémon back, but there were too many stingers out right now.

So Ash, Daisy, and Samurai ran over towards her, and she led them away from the drones of the Kakuna. They kept on running until Samurai pointed to somewhere off the path and led them down a narrower path until they arrived at a log cabin. Once within range of it, they bolted for the safety of the cabin, and Samurai locked the door quickly behind them.

"Will they come back?" Misty asked in fear.

"Not as long as we don't bother them," Samurai replied, removing his armor. Then suddenly, he turned to Ash and said in an angry tone, "I hope you've learned your lesson."

"What?" Ash asked. "What lesson?"

Samurai snorted. "Are you really this stupid, novice?" Ash cringed from the insult, and Daisy gave an angry gasp, but Samurai went on harshly, "Your letting the Weedle go almost cost us our lives!"

"Now wait a minute!" Misty snapped. "Don't call Ash stupid! And it's your fault the Beedrill were after us!" What she had said made Daisy stare at her in surprise.

"Don't interrupt, fair maiden!" Samurai told her. Then he turned back to Ash and continued scolding, "Not even a stupid novice like yourself would abandon his Pokémon like you did!"

Ash tried to stop his shaking from shame and looked up at Samurai. "I-I'm sorry. I tried to save Metapod."

"Chu," Pikachu added with a gentle paw on his leg.

Samurai just growled, "Your Metapod will pay for its trainer's foolishness and inexperience! The other trainers from Pallet would never have been so irresponsible!"

Daisy spoke up this time, her voice cracking from what was perhaps rage, "So you battled my brother Gary and others?"

"Of course," Samurai said with a proud tone. "There were three spectacular matches, each more challenging than the last! Those trainers really knew how to raise Pokémon! Even though I was defeated three times, I was inspired by those trainers to train until I can defeat the next trainer from Pallet!" With a glare of contempt thrown at Ash, he added, "But compared to those trainers, this novice here is a failure! He's a terrible Pokémon trainer!"

That was enough to make tears come fully out from Ash's eyes. No matter what he tried to tell himself, saying that it was indeed his fault, he didn't want the samurai to be right. His Metapod was out there alone, and he hadn't been able to save it.

"I get it now," Ash rasped, feeling a few tears roll down his cheeks. "I'm going out there to get my Metapod back. And I don't care if I die or not; I'm still saving him! Let's go, Pikachu."

With that, in spite of warnings from Daisy and Misty, he ran out the door, Pikachu following him. But he didn't stick around long enough to hear what else went on.

"Not only is he stupid, but he's reckless too," Samurai snorted, sounding and looking unsympathetic. "Why do you try defending him?"

"You HYPOCRITE!" Daisy snapped at Samurai as soon as the door closed. "Ash is going to get himself killed out there, and it's all your fault!"

Samurai grunted. "I cannot be blamed for another's mistakes. A samurai is always careful to not make mistakes."

In response, Misty shoved Samurai to the wall and yelled, "Then you're not a true samurai! Don't samurai and others make mistakes like any other person?"

"I did not make any mistakes!" Samurai insisted angrily. "It's his fault for not finishing what he started and abandoning his Metapod!"

"YOU interrupted Ash when he was going to catch that Weedle!" Daisy spat. "Yet you had the gall to scold him for something YOU did! It wasn't Ash's fault, and I won't say it was because you can't bother to hear his side of the story! Oh, and Ash would never abandon his Pokémon! You know how strong Beedrill are, right? If we had gone after them, we could have gotten killed!"

"Looks like we better go find him now. And you're coming with us," Misty added, taking a piece of rope from the table. "Looks like I'm not the only one who owes Ash an apology."

She started tying his hands after that, making Samurai grumble about being humiliated like this. Then Daisy got up close to his face and snarled, "And if Ash dies out there because of you, his blood will be on YOUR hands."

_**To be continued...**_

**...**

**I don't know about you, but I think this is gonna be a two-parter, so I might make a few more. And I hope you all liked this chapter, folks! If there's anything you don't like about this story, please let me know, and I'll fix it. I've had some constructive criticism in some of the reviews, and I thank you very much for it!**

**Speaking of criticism, I've gotten a few people saying that they didn't like the part where Daisy spat at Misty. Now that I look back at it, you're right to not like it. Maybe I was ranting a bit about getting back at someone for yelling at an autistic kid, but writing what I wrote wasn't the answer. And this is a reason why I don't like writing bashing stories. But to reassure you, I took out the spitting part.**

**Ash: Pikachu (Thundershock, Tail Whip, Growl, trying to learn Iron Tail), Pidgey (Tackle, Gust, Sand Attack), Metapod, (Tackle, String Shot, Harden), Nidoran Male (Peck, Leer, Focus Energy)**

**Daisy: Eevee (Tackle, Iron Tail, Tail Whip, Helping Hand)**

**Misty: Staryu (Rapid Spin, Water Gun, Harden), Starmie (Swift, Water Pulse, Recover, Rapid Spin)**

**See ya next time!**


	8. Into The Beedrill Swarm

**Hey there, everyone, and welcome back to Journey Of An Autistic Trainer! So far, it's doing good, and I've gotten more positive reviews. And once again, the spitting thing will NOT happen again...unless maybe it's from a villain.**

**I had noticed that Ash had been crying a bit in the last few chapter, so I decided to tone it down in future chapters. He WILL start standing up for himself, but that'll be when he gets a little more experienced. Maybe around the third gym when he faces Lieutenant Surge...whoops. Spoiler alert. Sorry. If you get the reference, then you get a virtual cookie, and I will thank you for liking this story.**

**Oh, and a review asked if Ash would get a legendary ****Pokémon in this FanFic. The answer is...no. He won't be getting a legendary here. And someone pointed out that I misspelled Pinsir's name, and I thank her very much for that. Now on with the story!**

**Uploading Date: April 8, 2015**

**Enjoy!**

**...**

_**Into The Beedrill Swarm**_

Ash kept running through the bushes while Pikachu kept a lookout on the sky above. He didn't know when a Beedrill was going to swoop down and attack him, but he didn't care. Samurai's harsh words kept ringing in his ears like church bells, and he tried to keep the tears back. He had indeed tried to save Metapod from the Beedrill, but it wasn't enough.

_He's right. I'm stupid! _Ash thought in shame. _I've been stupid, and I'll always be stupid. But I won't stop finding Metapod!_

"Pika!" Pikachu jumped off of Ash's shoulder and darted over to some bushes with a flick of his tail.

"What's up, Pikachu?" Ash asked, going after him into the bushes. Pikachu held him back with his tail, and he soon saw why.

Hanging everywhere on a big tree in a clearing were cocoons...but they weren't Metapod. They were yellow in color and looking more sinister than their green-colored cousins. His Pokédex started beeping, so Ash took it out to turn down the volume and check on these cocoons.

"_Kakuna is the Cocoon Pokémon, it evolves from Weedle, and it evolves into Beedrill. While awaiting evolution, it hides from predators under leaves and in nooks of branches."_

_That sounds like Metapod, _Ash thought with wonder.

And speaking of Metapod...there he was, leaning against the tree the Kakuna were resting in, his eyes closed. He hadn't moved at all when Ash and Pikachu approached from the side. Was he dead?

Thankfully, he wasn't. Instead, his opened his eyes and greeted them, "Metapod! Meta!"

"Metapod!" Ash exclaimed, running forward to hug his Pokémon. "Am I glad to see you! I thought the Beedrill killed you!" He started to lift the cocoon off the ground, saying, "Come on. We gotta get you out of here."

But Metapod jumped out of his arms and faced him, saying firmly, "Metapod."

"Pika?" Pikachu asked, going up to him. "Pikachu Pika?"

"Meta Metapod."

Ash seemed to get it even though he couldn't understand Pokémon. Metapod seemed to be determined to stay and fight to the death, and Ash couldn't help but feel responsible for all of this. If he had finished what he started, they would have gotten out of the forest sooner, and Metapod would not have been in grave danger.

"Metapod, that Samurai was right. This was all my fault," Ash confessed. "If I was a better and normal trainer, I'd stop making all these excuses. From now on, I swear I'll never run away and leave my friends behind again. No more excuses."

"Wait."

Ash spun around. Daisy and Misty had brought over Samurai, who had been tied up and brought before him. What had the girls done to him?

"Ketchum, I'm sorry," Samurai said, glancing nervously to the side at Misty. "I was the hypocrite here. I was the one who interrupted your battle with the Weedle. And I now know you tried to recall your Metapod. So I was the one making excuses, and this entire mishap is my fault. You're a good trainer, and I'm a terrible samurai."

"What?" Ash asked in a confused tone. "But what about not finishing what I-"

Samurai gulped. "I was being a jerk, okay? Yes, that was a good lesson, but you would not have learned it if I hadn't shoved myself into your business! And you are neither stupid nor a failure!" To Misty, he pleaded, "Now let me go so we can stop those Beedrill!"

Daisy and Misty shared grim nods before the latter used a pocket knife to untie Samurai from his bonds. But just as soon as he was free, Misty reached down, pulled him up, and punched him in the stomach. "And that's for dragging me into this bug-filled mess."

"We've got an eye on you, Samurai," Daisy added with a glare. "Don't you forget that."

Samurai nodded quickly and sent out Pinsir to battle.

"We'll counter a Beedrill WITH a Beedrill!" Daisy called, bringing out a PokéBall. "Let's go, Beedrill!"

To everyone's surprise, a Beedrill had come out of the PokéBall, raising its stingers as a fighting pose. When they all glanced at her, she asked, "What? I caught one when Pikachu was busy shocking them all."

"Just don't let it sting me," Misty muttered before tossing out a PokéBall. "Misty calls Starmie!"

Starmie had come out of the PokéBall, standing beside Pikachu, Beedrill, and Pinsir. They were now standing between the trainers and the swarm of Beedrill. One of the Beedrill in the swarm shook its stinger angrily at Daisy's Beedrill, which it replied with a determined buzz.

"Pikachu, Thundershock!" Ash yelled, and Pikachu fired a bolt of electricity at the swarm.

"Starmie, Water Pulse!" Misty called, and Starmie summoned a ball of water before firing it at them.

"Beedrill, Poison Sting!" Daisy commanded. Beedrill did just that, causing its former comrades to dodge the stings and swarm towards it.

"And Pinsir, Vice Grip on the leader!" Samurai added.

Pinsir did just that, grabbing the leader when it got close enough, and threw it hard to the ground. That was when chaos ensued: Pikachu and Eevee were working together to fend off two Beedrill at once, Staryu and Starmie weaved around the battlefield like boomerangs and tackled several bees, and Nidoran and Pinsir were fighting back-to-back, firing horns and pincers at whatever came their way. Samurai's Metapod, though, couldn't do much except use Harden a lot and hope the Beedrill didn't choose easier prey.

However, Pidgey was having trouble fighting against the swarm, and Daisy's new Beedrill was trying its best to fight off the attackers. Just then, one Beedrill shoved Daisy's Beedrill to the side and knocked Pidgey out of the way before heading straight for Ash. Ash was just backing away when he saw Pikachu dash over, angrily slamming a newly-made Iron Tail at the Beedrill and knocking it away. But there was no time to celebrate his starter finally learning Iron Tail, for another Beedrill rammed into Pikachu, knocking him to the side before speeding right at Ash, stingers poised and ready to strike.

And that was when Metapod suddenly jumped in between Pidgey and the Beedrill. To Ash's horror, the Beedrill's stinger sliced down Metapod's side, apparently breaking it open.

"METAPOD! NO!" Ash screamed, running forward to get his Metapod back.

"Ash!" Daisy yelled, but Misty and Samurai held her back. "We need to get to him!"

"We will," Samurai told her.

In the meantime, Ash crouched over Metapod's broken shell, his heart beating out of control from shock and his legs trembling as he felt the tears come to his eyes. He had failed to get Metapod back again, and he couldn't even keep him alive this time.

But suddenly, a light shone from within the dead shell, and the four humans and their Pokémon watched in awe. Out of the cocoon came a large purple butterfly-like Pokémon, flapping its wings and quivering its antennae as its red eyes shone in the sunlight.

"Free!" the big butterfly cried.

"M-Metapod?" Ash asked in surprise just as the Pokédex beeped in his backpack. So he took it out to find out what his Metapod had become.

"_Butterfree is the Butterfly __Pokémon, and it evolves from Metapod. It loves the honey from flowers and can locate flower patches that have even tiny amounts of pollen._"

"B-Butterfree!" Ash exclaimed happily, and Butterfree flew around and gently snuggled against him. His Pokémon was alive and well! "Can you learn any new moves?"

The Butterfly Pokémon nodded and, as a Beedrill dived at them, stayed still as his eyes began glowing blue. All of a sudden, the Beedrill was stopped in midair and flung back against another attacking Beedrill. With enraged buzzes, they turned around once again and sped right at Butterfree...only for Butterfree to repeat the Confusion attack, throwing one Beedrill against the two of them.

Once the other Pokémon saw this, they were encouraged again and started fighting harder. Pidgey, Daisy's Beedrill, and Pinsir succeeded in driving three Beedrill away at once, Nidoran, Pikachu, and Eevee stayed on the ground and fought the best they could, and Staryu and Starmie fought back twice as hard as they did before. Then when Butterfree started spreading out a powder that made them feel sleepy, the Beedrill started retreating back into the forest.

_We did it! _Ash cheered silently. _We won!_

**...**

Orange light through the tree branches announced the arrival of sunset. Ash and the others were getting prepared to leave the forest; it could be nightfall by the time they got to Pewter City. Ash would have to get his first gym battle in the morning, for it could be too late at night to challenge Brock. He looked up to see how Daisy was doing while healing all their Pokémon, and she seemed to have a natural talent, but she looked tired after doing a lot of healing and using lots of supplies.

_I wish I can help, _Ash thought. _But I don't know anything about healing __Pokémon. Maybe she can teach me one day?_

Ash had just finished packing his clothes when Misty approached him, looking uneasy. "Hey. Can we talk?" she asked.

However, Ash didn't want to look at her after what happened, but he couldn't ignore her. "Um...sure."

To the side, Daisy had seen this and was just finishing healing Nidoran, who gave the ground a tap with a hind foot before smiling. Once she was finished healing the Pokémon, she returned Eevee and Beedrill to their PokéBalls before Ash did the same.

"So what really brought you back?" Daisy asked, suspicious but not hostile.

"I actually met Samurai the day after we had that fight, and he asked me about you. So I've been thinking after our fight. Ash..." When Ash looked around at her at last, Misty sighed and said, "...I'm really sorry I said all of that to you, and I shouldn't have picked on you. You're not stupid, and you're not a terrible trainer; you'll probably be the best one day."

"I wish I could believe you," Ash mumbled, not looking her in the eye. "I felt really bad about what you said."

"I know," Misty replied. "Why I acted that way is being stuck out in this forest with a lot of bugs. I guess the stress got to me. So again, I'm sorry."

Daisy looked sympathetic, but then she said, "Still, saying sorry doesn't justify bullying other people. Saying sorry won't take back the things you said. But you did help Ash, so you've got some more to go to get the water under the bridge."

Misty sighed. "I know. I can't take it back, but I'll make up for it the best I can, and I'll learn all I can about autism. Can we still be friends?" she added, holding a hand out for a handshake.

"We'll try," Daisy simply answered, taking her hand and shaking it. "I won't promise anything, but we'll try. And I'm sorry for leaving you to the bugs," she added in mild shame.

"It's okay," Misty said with a shrug, looking relieved from Daisy accepting the offer.

Pikachu, however, didn't move from beside Ash. Ash figured that he was still mad at Misty. He tried petting Pikachu's head and telling him that Misty meant no harm, but he still looked angry. As for Ash, what Misty had said earlier that day had really hurt, but he couldn't be mad at her forever.

"If I can, may I escort you out of the forest?" Samurai piped up, recalling his Pokémon. "It's the least I can do for causing this mess."

Daisy and Misty gave Ash a glance as if asking him what to do. He was hurt by what Samurai told him before, but he did help them out in the end. So he nodded and said, "Sure."

So Samurai led the way on the main forest path, taking them around corners and crossroads. Finally, an hour later, they had made it to the edge of Viridian Forest, out in wide open spaces where the setting sun was casting shadows behind them.

"Take that route straight ahead. It'll take you to Pewter City," Samurai told them. "And Ketchum, I wish you good luck in your gym battles. And in turn, I will learn from my mistakes and not make excuses."

"And me too," Ash said with a smile. "Though what you and Misty said hurt, I gotta grow up soon, right? Once I get better, I can battle you at the Pokémon League. How's that sound?"

"I accept your challenge," Samurai said with a bow. "And your maidens told me about your condition when they told me off, so like the red-haired fair maiden, I too will learn about autism. Farewell."

They said their farewells in return before leaving him and the forest behind.

Ash felt like he was in higher spirits as they walked on down the road. Earlier, he had felt that he couldn't do anything right, but now he was encouraged more than ever to take on the gym challenges.

_I'm not stupid. I may not be the brightest kid, but I'm not stupid! Now I can carry on!_

_**To be continued...**_

**...**

**There we go, folks, and I hope you like this chapter. Again, if there's something you don't like about this chapter, PLEASE let me know so I can fix it. But please be polite about it; if it sounds very insulting, I will NOT listen. And I fixed Pinsir's name, so to Julia Lucrezia Hanazono, thank you!**

**So Ash and his friends are out of the Viridian Forest and to Pewter City! I don't know how the gym battle there will turn out, but maybe if Nidoran could learn Double Kick, it'd do some good. A Mankey would've done well too, but what's done is done, and there's no turning back. And as for Misty tagging along with them only to Cerulean City, I MIGHT change my mind about that.**

**Ash: Pikachu (Thundershock, Tail Whip, Growl, trying to learn Iron Tail), Pidgey (Tackle, Gust, Sand Attack), Butterfree, (Tackle, String Shot, Sleep Powder, Confusion), Nidoran Male (Peck, Leer, Focus Energy)**

**Daisy: Eevee (Tackle, Iron Tail, Tail Whip, Helping Hand), Beedrill (Poison Sting, String Shot, Fury Attack, Pin Missile)**

**Misty: Staryu (Rapid Spin, Water Gun, Harden), Starmie (Swift, Water Pulse, Recover, Rapid Spin)**

**See ya next time!**


	9. Battle At Pewter City (part 1)

**Hey there, everyone, and welcome back to Journey Of An Autistic Trainer! This is the chapter where Ash is gonna get his first gym battle. I had seen that even though he was doing good, Ash didn't earn four of his Kanto badges the traditional way. That's why he'll earn them the traditional wave, but maybe I'll make one exception. JUST. ONE. And that'll be it.**

**Like the Best Wishes season and other FanFics, I'm thinking of letting Ash rotate his team around. Plus, there was a review asking if Ash could have a Ralts or Riolu later on, and I might think about it. I will NOT, however, let him have a legendary ****Pokémon; it would seem a little cliche. However, he WILL have a legendary Pokémon as an ally for some time. THAT'S in the future, though.**

**One more thing: a review said that autistic people are sensitive to loud noises, so besides yelling, Ash will be sensitive to loud roars from ****Pokémon. Now onward with the story!**

**Uploading Date: April 28, 2015 (Birthday!)**

**Enjoy!**

**...**

_**Battle At Pewter City (part 1)**_

They had done it. A few hours later, Ash and his friends had arrived at Pewter City at last just when the sun went down. Pewter City wasn't as big as Viridian City, but it was still nice-looking with several buildings with mountains in the distance.

"Finally!" Daisy sighed. "We're here!"

Misty gave a sigh of relief too. "I just can't wait to reach the Pokémon center," she added. "Getting a shower will get the mud and leaves off in no time!"

Ash nodded, but he saw that there was a building that looked similar to the gym he saw in Viridian City. The windows in there were still lit up from the inside, and there could be more time to get there right away.

"Can we stop for a snack?" Ash asked. "I've been wanting to take the gym challenge right after that."

"Are you kidding? You can stuff your little-" But Misty stopped snapping to see Ash look startled and Daisy give her a warning look, so she said in a calmer voice, "I mean...you can eat when we get to the Pokémon center, and you can have your gym battle in the morning. Is that okay?"

Ash nodded, calming himself down. He knew Misty was right; they had been in a forest for a few days, and they were tired, hungry, and dirty. So he rubbed the back of his head and said, "Yeah."

Daisy sidled up next to him. "By the way, we better let your mom know you're safe and sound, Ash. It's part of his schedule," she added to Misty.

"What else is on his schedule?" Misty asked with curiosity.

"He always wakes up before either one of us except on weekends, and he always eats breakfast before anything else," Daisy replied. "And don't try to alter the schedule without him or he'll get upset."

So they made their way to the Pokémon center, where they got their Pokémon healed and learned that Nurse Joy was not the same Nurse Joy from Viridian City. Instead, she had a lot of identical sisters who lived in every town and city in Kanto, which explained how the Nurse Joy in Viridian got better. And once they ate dinner, Ash went to call his mother from where the phones were at.

_Best not let Mom know about Misty yelling at me, _Ash thought with a frown. The yelling did hurt, but the past was in the past, and there was no need bringing it up. Finally, he watched as his mother's face appeared on the screen.

"Hey Mom," Ash called through the phone.

"Hey Ash!" Delia called back with a smile. "Have you made it to Pewter City yet?"

Ash nodded. "Yep. And I got some new Pokémon! You wanna see them?"

Delia, however, said, "I'd love to, sweetie, but I'm fixing to go to bed soon. And did you make it okay through the forest?"

"Yep." Ash looked around at Daisy and Misty and twisted his cap around as he added, "And it's thanks to Daisy and Misty that I got this far."

Before Delia could speak up, however, Misty remarked, "Hey, that's the second or third time I've seen you do turn your cap around. What's up with that?"

"He does it every day. It's what he does," Delia suddenly replied. "And Misty, it's a great pleasure meeting you."

"You too," Misty said with half a smile, and Ash guessed she too was thinking of when she yelled at him.

"I'm also gonna have my first gym battle tomorrow morning," Ash told his mother. "I hope I do good tomorrow."

Delia smiled. "I hope you do too, Ash, but please don't do anything dangerous or reckless. And please don't forget to brush your teeth and change your you-know-whats." The girls giggled at this, and Ash groaned in embarrassment, so Delia said quickly, "Well, I better go get some sleep, and you should too. I love you, Ash."

Ash smiled back at her. "Love you too, Mom."

The phone went off, and Ash went with Daisy and Misty to have dinner. They had let out all of their Pokémon during this, and the Pokémon were marveling in how Butterfree had finally managed to evolve. Only Pikachu stayed by Ash's side, making sure he was feeling okay and curled up on his lap like a cat. During dinner, the humans had a chat, and Ash was happy that Misty was sounding much friendlier than back at Viridian Forest and believed she was right about one thing. Perhaps being in a forest full of bugs made her so scared that she snapped.

_I hope that doesn't happen again, _Ash thought as he fed Pikachu a meatball from his spaghetti. Misty was like a long-lost cousin or something, and even though he didn't like her hotheadedness, he did appreciate her protective nature.

**...**

Ash awoke the next morning without waking Daisy or Misty, going out to train his Pokémon. He had Nidoran try his Double Kick move on targets, and he had Pikachu do the same with his Iron Tail technique. Pikachu's Iron Tail had suddenly stopped working well on the targets, but Ash was sure it would work against the gym leader. Daisy had told him from before that Brock used Rock-type Pokémon, and Steel or Fighting-type moves would work well.

After training, he joined Daisy and Misty for breakfast, and then they went on towards the gym. He felt a bit nervous about facing Brock for the first time, but the girls were there by his side.

"Don't forget to slow down," Daisy warned Ash when they arrived at the gym; it was smaller than the one at Viridian City, but it had the same color of brown-and-white. "Just be careful, and try not to do anything reckless. Oh, and don't use Butterfree or Pidgey in this gym match; they're weak against Rock-types."

This made Misty put her hands on her hips and say, "Why else would the gym leader's name be Brock? And Ash, don't forget to flip your hat around," Misty added with a teasing grin. Ash and Daisy gave her confused looks, and she said defensively, "Hey, he looks kinda cute with that...and I mean that in a very non-romantic way. Right, Daisy?"

Daisy rolled her eyes, and Ash said, "Don't worry. I'm gonna try my best."

They stopped before the gym doors and looked inside. It appeared to be opened because someone was inside, coming over to the door and opening it. It turned out to be a referee, who had hurried over to let them inside. Without a word, he led them down a corridor with green walls and what looked like the kind of hallways one would see at school. They finally arrived at a double-door entry, and they pushed the doors open and went inside.

The gym inside was spacious with a rock-filled arena in the middle, large jagged rocks jutting out of the ground like pillars. And coming to greet Ash and the girls was a teenage boy with tanned skin, spiky hair, and an orange shirt and brown pants. But what was the oddest thing about him was that it looked like his eyes were permanently closed.

"Morning, trainer," the teenager said as they approached, his arms crossed. "My name's Brock, and I'm the Pewter City gym leader. So you must be here for a challenge, right?"

Ash nodded. "Yep."

Brock nodded and looked around at Daisy and Misty, a smile on his face. "Daisy! Misty! How've you two beauties been?"

"Don't call us that, Brock," Misty groused while Daisy laughed in amusement. "No use bringing up memories."

"Memories?" Ash asked, piqued. "What kind of memories?"

Misty glared at him. "Haven't you ever heard of not meddling in others' business?" she snapped.

Daisy gave Misty the same warning look, but Ash nodded quickly. "You're right, Misty. I'm sorry. I won't do it again." Then he turned back to Brock and said, "I've come all the way from Pallet Town to challenge you."

"I've been looking for a challenge for the past two days. Hope you're ready, Ash," Brock called from the other side of the arena as the lights above them came on. "Just because you're a beginning trainer doesn't mean I'll go easy on you. A gym battle is different from your average trainer battle. This match is for Pokémon League Authorization, and we will use two Pokémon each. Time to show you my rock-solid Rock Pokémon!" He took out a PokéBall and threw it out, calling, "Geodude, let's go!"

Out of the PokéBall appeared what looked like a floating rock with a face and arms. "GEO!" it roared.

As usual, Ash took his Pokédex to scan it. It said, "_Geodude is the Rock __Pokémon. At rest, it looks just like a rock. Carelessly stepping on it will make it swing its fists angrily."_

_That looks cool...but let's see how it can stand a Double Kick. _Ash tossed Nidoran's ball out, yelling, "Nidoran, I choose you!"

Out came Nidoran, letting out a cry and pawing the ground. He leered at Geodude and lowered its horn so that it was pointing at the floating rock Pokémon, but Geodude ended up laughing at it.

"A Poison-type against a Rock/Ground-type?" Brock asked with a quizzical look. "Strange...I thought you'd have gotten a Bulbasaur or Squirtle?"

Recalling how fast the other trainers were in getting the starters, Ash blushed in embarrassment. "I was kinda late, so I got Pikachu instead," he explained. "I've had him for two weeks. And I got help with teaching Pikachu Iron Tail."

Brock still looked questioning, but he did say, "That's good. Iron Tail is super effective against Rock-types, and it can lower defenses. So are you ready?"

"I'm ready!" Ash called.

A referee had come forward to judge the match. "This gym battle will be between Pewter City gym leader Brock and Ash Ketchum from Pallet Town. Both sides are to use two Pokémon, and the challenger is allowed to use substitutions."

"That's good to me!" Brock shouted. "Geodude, Tackle!"

"Geo!" Geodude growled, moving forward to tackle Pikachu.

"Nidoran, dodge to the side!" Ash called.

Nidoran did just that, leaving Geodude to collide with a rock on the battlefield. When it reeled back, it didn't look too hurt from the collusion.

Brock nodded. "Nice dodging speed. But you can't dodge it forever. Geodude, Rock Polish!"

Geodude curled up into a ball before throwing up its arms. Brock commanded for a Tackle, and Ash told Nidoran to dodge, but Geodude suddenly got too fast and tackled Nidoran hard in the side. Ash told Nidoran to retaliate with Double Kick, and Nidoran kicked hard at Geodude twice, but the rock's skin was so hard that it didn't do much. With another Tackle, Geodude rammed into Nidoran's side before grunting in pain.

"It's the Poison Pint ability!" Ash exclaimed, recalling the ability when Misty yelled at him. "Butterfree got caught by it, and now Geodude has too! Nidoran, try a Leer attack!"

Nidoran pawed the ground and glared at Geodude the most it could. Geodude cringed from the look before lunging at Nidoran again with yet another Tackle. To Ash's dismay, Geodude didn't look like it was slowing down, but Nidoran didn't look like he was going to give up yet. Then Nidoran countered another Tackle with a Double Kick, forcing Geodude back. At last, Geodude couldn't take it any longer and fell with a thud; it had fainted.

"Geodude is unable to battle!" the referee called. "Nidoran wins!"

Ash couldn't believe it. His Nidoran had beaten Brock's Geodude with a combination of Double Kick and the Poison Point ability.

"Not bad. You got past my Geodude!" Brock praised Ash as he recalled Geodude and pulled out another PokéBall. "But get ready for my next Pokémon. Go out there, Onix!"

He threw out the ball, and Ash stepped back in fright. Out of the ball came the biggest Pokémon he had ever seen, a massive snake made entirely out of rocks and a spike on top of its head. It gave a massive roar, and Ash covered his ears to block out the noise while Nidoran tried (and failed) to look brave. Once Onix stopped roaring, Ash uncovered his ears and took out his Pokédex to check out what it was.

"_Onix is the Rock Snake __Pokémon. It burrows through the ground at a speed of 50 mph while feeding on large boulders._"

"What do you think of my Onix?" Brock asked with a smile. "Pretty big, isn't it?"

Ash nodded with a gulp. "Yeah..it really is. Hey Nidoran!" he called to his Pokémon. "Can you handle this one?"

Nidoran appeared to be shaking his head as if he was refusing. But then he looked up with determination and declared, "Nido!"

"That's great," Ash said. "Now use Double Kick!"

Nidoran started hopping forth, looking like a rabbit running towards a wall. But then, Brock smirked as he called, "Onix, Rock Tomb!"

Onix roared and swatted at four rocks from the side with its tail, sending them at Nidoran. It was too late for him to dodge as he was trapped between the four rocks.

"Nidoran, try kicking at the rocks!" Ash called.

""Not so fast!" Brock retorted. "Onix, Rock Throw as it comes out!"

Onix threw another rock towards the emerging Nidoran. The little Poison-type Pokémon was caught by the blast and fell.

"Nidoran is unable to battle! Onix wins!" the referee called. "Now both trainers are down to their last Pokémon!"

Ash was shocked. That Onix was really powerful! He still had Pikachu and his Iron Tail left, but was it enough to at least do damage? He looked down at Pikachu, who gave him a firm "Pika!" and ran out to the battlefield.

"If you're sure..." Ash said before feeling as determined as Pikachu. "Then Pikachu, I choose you!"

"Ash, are you sure you know what you're doing?" Daisy called from the benches.

Ash nodded. "I think so...or, at least Pikachu does."

He saw Misty slap a hand to her own face, and Daisy looked around at her. Ash guessed that it meant he was going to fail, but he had to try. He wouldn't give up.

"If you've made your choice, I'll move first," Brock said. "Onix, Rock Tomb!"

Onix once again sent a group of rocks over towards Pikachu. But Ash called "Dodge it, Pikachu!", and Pikachu jumped to the side, startled from the attack but undeterred. Another command made Onix use Rock Tomb again, and Pikachu once again got near it, leaving Ash full of hope.

"Awesome!" Ash called. "Now use Iron Tail!"

"PiKA!" Pikachu yelled, his tail glowing silver as it jumped at Onix's head. But to his complete shock, the attack cancelled out, and Pikachu had slammed his tail onto Onix's head, resulting in an aching tail.

What had happened? Pikachu's Iron Tail had worked well against the Beedrill swarm with no problem. But now, it was as useless as a Splash attack.

Brock shook his head. "I thought you said it had learned Iron Tail? Next time, try working more on the move before you get certain you can fight Rock-types." Then he called, "Onix, finish it with Bind!"

"ONIX!" Onix bellowed.

It moved over to Pikachu and wrapped its massive rocky body around the small electric rodent. Pikachu gave a cry of pain and tried to wriggle free, but Onix squeezed tighter, proving any escape useless.

_We're losing. _Ash had expected this from whatever Daisy and Misty told him, but it was still hard to believe. Pikachu was suffering now, and he needed to get Onix to stop.

"I give up!" Ash called. "Just let Pikachu go!"

Onix then released Pikachu, and the referee called, "The challenger has forfeited the match. Therefore, the winner is gym leader Brock!"

"That was a nice try," Brock told Ash as he recalled Onix. "And considering how far you got with Pikachu, that's an accomplishment. But you've still got some training to do if you want to get the badge. Come back when you're ready with that Iron Tail, okay?"

Ash nodded numbly. "Y-Yeah. I will." He staggered over to Pikachu and scooped him up, saying, "I hope you're okay, Pikachu. I'm sorry I made you go through that."

"Pika...Pi..." Pikachu groaned, trying to smile up at him.

Ash and the girls left the gym, and Ash couldn't stop looking down at Pikachu's aching form. He hadn't been ready yet. He had tried his best to make sure Pikachu and his Iron Tail attack were at their best, but it became nothing. Just a big pile of nothing.

"You did your best, Ash," Misty spoke up after a few minutes, though she briefly looked like she wanted to scold him. "Like what Brock said, you just need to train some more."

"And try catching a Pokémon that can beat Brock," Daisy added more kindly. Ash didn't notice his friend giving Misty a frown, as if daring the Cerulean gym leader to yell at her friend.

"You're both right," Ash said, trying to swallow his grief. "I just gotta learn from this. And after I get Pikachu healed, I'm gonna go train. I'll never give up."

_**To be continued...**_

**...**

**Hey there, eveyone! Sorry for the long delay; I've been working on a book I'm gonna publish not too far into the future. That's why I haven't uploaded this story yet. And I hope you like this chapter, though it may be rushed. If there is anything in this chapter you don't like, please let me know, and I'll fix it. By the way, I'll accept constructive criticism as long as you're polite about it.**

**Today's my birthday, and we had an interesting day. I had gotten everything I wanted on my birthday list, we ate out at Steak 'N' Shake, and we had Hungry Howie's pizza for dinner. Talk about an interesting birthday, huh? Now I may retire for the night and start watching Legend Of Korra for the DVD.**

**See ya next time!**


	10. Iron Tail

**Wildstar93: Hey there, everyone, and welcome back to Journey Of An Autistic Trainer! I'm finally back to writing this story at long last, and I'm really sorry for putting it on hold for too long. I had to focus on writing my book, and though it doesn't have the greatest plot, I've tried to make it the best I can make it. I'm not expecting to make it big like Harry Potter or Warrior Cats, but I hope people like it.**

**So where we last left off, Ash has lost his gym match, because Pikachu's Iron Tail has stopped working. Well, this is the chapter where we'll try and fix that little problem. It won't be instant, so it'll take the rest of the chapter for Pikachu to use Iron Tail properly.  
**

**Oh, and I might think of taking down the author's note from the last chapter.**

**Uploading Date: September 6, 2015**

**Enjoy!**

**...**

_**Iron Tail**_

It had only been a few hours since Ash had lost to Brock. He didn't like to lose, but he knew that he and his Pokémon could not beat Brock the way they were now. He was not only down about his defeat, but he was also puzzled.

If Pikachu's Iron Tail had worked against the Beedrill swarm, then what happened during the gym battle? Ash had expected it to work right away, but that was apparently not enough. If they had practiced some more before the battle, then he would have had his first badge by now.

"Are you feeling okay?" Daisy asked Ash. "You've been quiet ever since you lost that gym match."

"I'm fine," Ash said, nudging a pebble with his shoe. "I was just thinking. Why didn't Pikachu's Iron Tail work that time? He did great against the Beedrill!"

"Maybe you just didn't practice enough," Misty suggested. "Why don't you go near Viridian Forest and help Pikachu with Iron Tail?"

Ash nodded. "Yeah. I guess I can. What do you say, Pikachu?" he asked his starter Pokémon.

"Pika!" Pikachu exclaimed, holding up a ketchup bottle. The Mouse Pokémon had taken to ketchup not too long ago, and even though Ash wasn't fond of it, he would not stop Pikachu from liking it.

So once the Pokémon were checked up a second time, Ash and the two girls went over to the route near Viridian Forest. They did not go in there in fear of disturbing the Beedrill swarm again, sticking close to the outskirts of the forest. To make sure they knew they were out, they stayed behind some trees so that the road back to Pewter City was in sight.

"There's a rock here," Daisy said, pointing to a rock in a clearing. "We can train Pikachu and Eevee here."

"Eevee?" Ash asked.

Misty nodded. "Remember? Daisy's Eevee knows Iron Tail."

"Oh yeah."

"Come out, Eevee!" Daisy said, taking out Eevee's PokéBall. Eevee emerged from the ball and ran around in a circle, squealing with energy.

Once the Evolution Pokémon calmed down, Daisy said, "Eevee, use Iron Tail on that rock, and make sure Pikachu watches."

"Eevee!" Eevee cheered.

Her tail glowed a silvery gray as she ran over to the rock. She jumped up to the air, lurched forward to spin, and slammed her tail down onto the rock. The rock did not break, for it was a very sturdy rock, and Ash noticed lots of claw marks on the surface.

"I think Pokémon sharpen their claws here," he said.

"What in this forest has claws?" Misty asked. "Besides Beedrill."

"Beedrill have drills on their hands," Daisy reminded her. "But maybe they come here to sharpen their drills. So we better make this quick."

Eevee was continuing her assault on the rock with Iron Tail. Pikachu was watching her in awe, eyes wide as Eevee continued with the attack. He stood up before getting down on all fours, a determined look on his face as he charged forward. His tail briefly glowed silvery-gray, but when he tried slamming the rock, the tail went back to yellow.

"Pika!" Pikachu hissed in pain, reeling back and licking his tail.

"That's what happened during the gym battle," Ash remarked. "How come his Iron Tail move didn't work?"

"Probably because it was a new move," Daisy reasoned. "And you can't expect Pikachu to remember a new move right away. Give him some time to learn it from Eevee."

In the meantime, Misty was stretching and saying, "I'm heading back to the Pokémon center. I'm not sticking around for the bugs."

Ash nodded. "Okay. Have fun!"

So Misty packed her stuff up and went out of the clearing, back where they had come from. Once she was gone, Ash couldn't help but sigh in relief. He was sure she would not yell at him anymore, but he was still scared she would the moment she got really ticked off.

"You can't be scared of Misty forever, Ash," Daisy said, noticing the sigh. "I didn't like how she yelled at you, but we're trying to get over it. Focus on _now_ and not _then_."

"Did you learn that from Professor Oak?" Ash asked with a small smile.

Daisy nodded. "Yep. If you've had Professor Oak as a grandpa, something smart will rub off on you," she replied with a smile. Looking back to the Pokémon, she called, "Eevee, time to take a break!"

Eevee, who had been panting a lot from using Iron Tail a lot, nodded and ran back to her side. Pikachu joined her, also panting, and he looked very disappointed in himself. Ash beckoned for him to jump onto his shoulder while Daisy took out what appeared to be food and medicine.

"Come on out, Beedrill!" she then said, tossing out a ball. Beedrill came out, and Ash was afraid it was going to go after them angrily. Instead, it was buzzing rather calmly and nodded gratefully when Daisy handed it some food.

"You too, guys!" Ash joined in, tossing three balls out. Out came Pidgey, Butterfree, and Nidoran, and they all cheered when they got to their food.

"I think I now why we stopped for a break," Ash said. "It's to relax our minds and the minds of our Pokémon too, right?"

Daisy nodded. "Yes. I learned a lot from my mom," she said. Then, with a blush, she added, "That, and I've been starving since this morning. What time is it?"

Ash checked his watch. "A little past twelve at noon," he reported.

"Good," Daisy said. "Now let's eat."

Thus, the two trainers and their six Pokémon dived into their food. The humans' food consisted of some turkey sandwiches Daisy made, cookies, and some grape juice. As for the Pokémon, they had Pokémon chow that Daisy's mother had made, for she had been a breeder. Ash himself preferred to eat the crust of the sandwich first before finishing it while Pikachu picked up any crumbs to add to the Pokémon food.

Once lunch was over, it was time for battle practice. Ash was going to spar with Daisy, and he was rather surprised to see her using Beedrill and Eevee at the same time. Most of the battles he had seen on T.V. were single battles. There also appeared to be what looked like a necklace with a green berry on it around Eevee's neck; Ash had never really noticed it until now.

"In case Brock's Pokémon use Rock Polish, you need to get your Pokémon countering them with strength," Daisy explained. "Beedrill knows Agility, so he's going to be one of your foes for today. So go ahead and choose your next Pokémon."

"Okay," Ash said, tossing out a ball. "Nidoran, I choose you!"

Nidoran came out of the ball, looking ready to go as he pawed the ground. Pikachu looked around at him before doing the same.

"Beedrill, Agility!" Daisy called. "And Eevee, Iron Tail on Nidoran!"

"Pikachu, dodge to the side!" Ash called. "And Nidoran, Double Kick on Eevee!"

Pikachu waited until Beedril was close enough to him before jumping to the side. Eevee's tail glowed silver and slammed it towards Nidoran, but Nidoran countered each strike with Double Kick. Once Beedrill had gotten close enough, Pikachu's tail started glowing silver.

"Great!" Ash cheered. "Pikachu, Iron Tail!"

So Pikachu tried slamming Beedrill with Iron Tail, but just like before, the attack cancelled out, and his tail ended up harmlessly grazing Beedrill's side. It was the third time this had happened, first with Onix and then with the rock. Ash felt that if Pikachu did not learn Iron Tail quickly, then he would have to keep repeating the gym until he got it right. Either that, or he would have to go through Viridian Forest and catch some more Pokémon.

"You were almost there," Daisy called. "But you'll need to do better than that. Eevee, Quick Attack combined with Iron Tail!"

"Okay then," Ash said. "Pikachu, Quick Attack and try Iron Tail again!"

Pikachu ran over and let his tail glow silver again, reaching Eevee and lashing out with his tail. But just before the tail made contact with Eevee, the silver glow lost its effect, and Pikachu merely gave Eevee a light slap on the face. Apparently noticing this, the Evolution Pokémon noticed this, for she smirked and retaliated with an Iron Tail of her own, slamming it into Pikachu's side.

"Better focus on Nidoran too," Ash said. "Nidoran, Double Kick on Eevee!"

Nidoran darted forward, but Beedrill came to intercept the attack, no-selling it and shrugging it off. Then at a command from Daisy, the drill bee Pokémon started firing a barrage of Poison Stings at Nidoran, distracting him from the match between Pikachu and Eevee. It was not as dangerous as the battle against the wild Beedrill since Daisy's Beedrill was aiming to spar, not kill.

"Pikachu, Iron Tail one more time!" Ash called. "Nidoran, Peck!"

So Pikachu ran forward with his tail glowing while Nidoran pawed the ground and jumped forward, head lowered.

"Eevee, Iron Tail on Pikachu again!" Daisy commanded. "And Beedrill, Agility and then use Poison Sting!"

So Eevee charged forward with Iron Tail again, and Beedrill sped around before firing Poison Stings. Nidoran reached Beedrill and tried jabbing it with his horn, but the Bug-type was too swift to properly jab. As for Pikachu, the Iron Tail was getting completed as he swung it on Eevee, but the tail once again faded back to its regular yellow color when it made contact. To the side, he saw Pidgey and Buttefree practicing without him telling them too; Ash guessed that they decided to just do what their comrades were doing.

"That was really close," Daisy commended Ash. "But I'm getting kinda tired. I think we'll practice more during the night. Why don't we go back to the Pokémon center?"

"Can't we stay out here some more?" Ash protested.

Daisy shook her head, wiping her forehead. "Ash, I'm getting tired, and so are Eevee and Beedrill. And I'm sure your Pokémon are tired too."

Ash looked around. Pikachu was looking exhausted, panting and trying to stand on his feet. Nidoran was also tired, but it was not as tired as Pikachu. Due to their slip-ups in flying, Pidgey and Butterfree were also looking tired from training. Ash did not want to stop training, but he knew Daisy was right. If they were to defeat Brock the next day, then they would have to take breaks during training.

"You're right," he finally conceded. "Let's go back."

So Ash and Daisy recalled their Pokémon while Ash went to pick Pikachu up. The mouse Pokémon was looking tired, but he gave his trainer a smile and a lick on the cheek before settling onto his shoulder.

Once they made it back to Viridian City, they made sure their Pokémon were healed before heading into the Pokémon center lobby. There, Misty was polishing the horn of a red-and-white fish-like Pokémon, whose frilly fins were brushing against its trainer's legs. Ash's Pokédex beeped from his pocket, and he took it out so it could say, "_Goldeen is the Goldfish __Pokémon. Though it appears very elegant when swimming with fins unfurled, it can jab powerfully with its horn."_

"How did training go?" Misty asked, recalling Goldeen into its PokéBall.

"Pikachu's Iron Tail is slowly getting there," Ash said. "But it's not enough."

"But if you give up, then Pikachu won't learn Iron Tail in time," Daisy told him. "We're just going to have to train harder."

Misty stood up from the sofa and said, "There's a stadium at the back of the Pokémon center. If we can go there, Ash, I'll train with you."

Ash nodded, recalling the stadium at the back of the Viridian City center, but he was still a little worried. What if Misty yelled at him for mistakes during training? But he told himself not to worry; as Daisy had said, he needed to stop being scared of the Cerulean City gym leader. He was going to accept the offer of being trained by her.

Though he never got the chance to reply, for a tap on the window made Ash, Pikachu, and the girls look around. A middle-aged man with a short-sleeved yellow shirt, green pants, brown shoes, and a shaggy brown beard was sitting on a rock outside, beckoning them over. They headed outside to greet this man, who had gotten down from the rock. When they got closer to him, Ash saw that he looked a little like someone he had just met recently.

"Who are you?" Ash asked right away. His mother had always taught him to try and know a person before fully trusting them.

"I heard how you battled my son and lost," the man said. "I'm his father Flint, and I was there when I saw you battle him. No wonder he's the gym leader of Pewter City. And you're standing on my merchandise," he added.

"Really? Sorry," Ash said, stepping off of the rock. Now he knew why this man looked familiar. "Why didn't you show yourself earlier?"

Daisy nodded. "Yeah. And did Brock let you into the gym earlier?"

"I don't like drawing too much attention to myself. And I got something that can help out," Flint said, avoiding Daisy's question while holding up a disc. "This here is a Technical Machine, TM for short if you wanna go that way. This one here is a TM for Iron Tail; it's been outdated, but I've been saving this for some sucker to give some of my merchandise a try. So...give it a try, free of charge."

"Um...thanks," Ash said as Pikachu hopped off his shoulder. He took the TM from Flint and asked, "You ready for this, buddy? Ready for it to work this time?"

Pikachu gave a firm nod. "Pika Pikachu!" the electric rodent confirmed.

Ash looked down at the TM, feeling a little more doubtful. "Are you sure? We can continue training if you want."

"Pika!" Pikachu confirmed again.

Feeling a little more confident this time, Ash pressed the TM slightly to Pikachu's forehead. Pikachu grunted from the energy he was absorbing while Misty and Daisy watched on in awe. At last, Ash lifted the TM away, and Pikachu let his tail glow silver before running over to a nearby rock. With a cry, he slammed his tail against the rock, which caused a large dent to appear.

"Wow!" Ash exclaimed. "It left a mark this time!"

"I never really knew TMs worked like that," Daisy said. "I had my Eevee hatched with Iron Tail, but I never knew it was that easy!"

Misty was the only one besides Flint who was not surprised. "It's what happened whenever I gave TMs to trainers who beat me in a gym battle," she said. "Some give the move to a Pokémon right away, while others wait until later."

Ash looked up at her, wanting to stay on her good side. "What TM do you give out?"

"Water Pulse," Misty replied proudly. "It confuses enemies sometimes."

"And Iron Tail weakens a foe's defense," Flint added. "I know you can do this, kid. I can imagine you in the Pokémon League, plowing through whatever comes your way."

Ash did not know about that. He knew he wanted to go up to the Pokémon League once he was trained enough, but he did not know about actually plowing through his enemies.

"Then we'll do it tomorrow," Ash said with a determined look. "We'll use Iron Tail to win the gym this time! I've come this far in my journey, and I'm not gonna quit now."

"Pikachu!" Pikachu added, pumping a paw-fist.

"Hold on a second," Misty said, laying a hand on his shoulder. "Like Daisy said, practice first. Practice makes perfect after all."

Ash agreed. It would take more than just Iron Tail to defeat Brock's Rock-type Pokémon.

"Brock is a very good gym leader," Flint spoke up. "His own talents could take him much further than simply being a local gym leader. But he has his reasons, and he'll just have to do his best to fight you tomorrow, and so do you. And by the way," he added with a smirk, "that'll be a two dollar charge for standing on my rocks."

Everyone groaned.

_**To be continued...**_

**...**

**Wildstar93: There we go, folks, and I think I'll leave it off there. This chapter has finally arrived, and the next chapter will be the rematch against Brock. I won't promise that I'll upload everyday, but I promise to do my best. And I hope you all like this chapter. If there is anything wrong with this chapter, let me know, and I'll fix it. I appreciate constructive criticism as long as you're polite about it.**

**I'm also currently writing another book, called Sam. It tells of a Dalmatian named Sam who lives in a crummy New York City apartment who wishes to go on an adventure. He gets what he wishes for when his owner (a police officer) dies from wounds against a criminal, and he has to live on the streets. There, he meets a wisecracking raccoon and a headstrong husky, and the three make a great journey to Central Park, where they could roam free. But obstacles meet them along the way, including lots of traffic, a gang of dogs out to end them, and Sam's own anger issues.**

**See ya next time!**


	11. Battle At Pewter City (part 2)

**Wildstar93: Hey there, everyone, and welcome back to Journey Of An Autistic Trainer! I've decided not to write anything else until I get a few more chapters of this story in. And to those who want to see Ash get his Kanto badges the right way, then this time, he'll get the Boulder Badge the right way.**

**I've been thinking on whether Daisy should earn some badges or something else, not contests or anything like that. I kinda think contests in Pokémon FanFiction is becoming all too common lately, so I decided to try something else. Like, maybe, be a zoologist for Pokémon or something. Tell me what you think she can do.**

**By the way, I am now up to a hundred reviews. Thanks!**

**Uploading Date: September 8, 2015**

**Enjoy!**

**...**

_**Battle At Pewter City (part 2)**_

Ash had trained with Daisy after dinner, lasting for at least an hour until their Pokémon were tired; Misty had declined training with them for reasons she did not seem to want to reveal. Thanks to the TM, Pikachu's Iron Tail was working better than ever, but it sometimes went back to failing, so they needed to fix that problem. Fortunately, there were practice targets around the arena, so Pikachu was able to get it started again so soon.

"I think you're ready now," Daisy remarked after Nidoran had deflected Beedrill with a Double Kick. "Your Pokémon are bound to be around the same level as Brock's Geodude."

"You think so?" Ash asked. "But...what about Pidgey and Butterfree? I don't wanna neglect them."

Daisy looked around at Eevee dodging Pidgey's Quick Attack and Butterfree's Confusion. "I think Eevee's got them entertained," she said with a laugh.

Once they were done with training, they had dinner and then went to bed.

The next day was looking as nice as usual, a blue sky with fat white clouds dotted here and there. However, the gym would not be opened until ten in the morning, so Ash, Daisy, and Misty spent some time at the Pewter City museum. There, Ash was fascinated by the fossils and skeletons of extinct Pokémon and how there were rare stones he had never seen before. Plus, he had learned that all the regions in the world were formed into two super-continents, where and when prehistoric Pokémon roamed.

Finally, the gym was close to being opened, so they left the museum and headed over to the gym. They had arrived just in time, for a referee was opening the front door of the gym, and they went inside. As usual, there was the rocky arena, and Brock was at the end of one side of the arena. Ash took his place at the other end, and though he was a little too far away to see, he saw that Brock was looking a little tired.

"So you've come back for a rematch, huh?" the Pewter City gym leader said with a grin. "Have you trained well enough? Have you learned your lesson from last time?"

Ash nodded. "Yep. I'm ready to get that Boulder Badge!"

Brock's grin got wider. "Good. Because I'm not holding back, and you better not hold back either." He threw out a Pokémon as he called, "Geodude, let's go!"

The familiar rock-like Pokémon came out, growling as it flexed its rocky arms. Ash wasn't sure if he could start off

"You're sending out Nidoran again?" Brock asked in surprise. "Are you sure that's a good idea?"

"Maybe," Ash admitted. "I was kinda hoping that it could work like last time. But Nidoran's getting tougher."

Brock nodded. "I'll accept that, but don't try repeating tactics too much. Geodude, Rock Polish!"

So Geodude sharpened its body until it became agile. Ash remembered how Nidoran had tried deflecting Beedrill's Agility-induced attacks and hoped the same could happen with Geodude.

"Now Geodude, Tackle!" Brock commanded.

"GEO!" Geodude called, charging forth.

"Nidoran, show him the horn!" Ash called.

Nidoran lowered his head and pawed the ground, daring Geodude to strike. But Brock had other plans.

"Geodude, grab Nidoran around the middle!" he called.

So Geodude did just that, wrapping its arms around Nidoran's middle. But just as it did so, it jumped back with a grunt of pain, and Nidoran was free to jump away and paw at the ground again.

"That Poison Point got Geodude again!" Brock seemed to mutter under his breath.

"Don't repeat tactics too much," Ash said with a grin. "Double Kick!"

Nidoran jumped over and started kicking against Geodude's rock-hard body. Geodude curled its arms before it and punched Nidoran away from it before recoiling from the poison. It did not do a lot of damage, but if they kept up the attacks, then exhaustion mixed with the poison would wear it down.

"Geodude, you're already poisoned," Brock called. "Just use Tackle!"

"GEO!" Geodude yelled, charging at Nidoran.

Too late to dodge, Nidoran was flung back towards a rock in the arena. Ash found himself thinking on his feet. He had to think of a way to slow Geodude down.

"Use Leer!" Ash called.

Nidoran nodded and leered at Geodude the best he could. Geodude looked a little unnerved by this, but after a command from Brock, it sped forward and rammed itself into Nidoran's side. The poison pint Pokémon staggered away from Geodude, trying to stay steady on his feet, before he collapsed onto his side. The referee went over to see if Nidoran was going to get up again.

"Nidoran is unable to battle," the referee finally called. "Geodude wins!"

Ash sighed and returned Nidoran to his PokéBall; it looked like that while Nidoran was victorious the first time, the second time was a failure. He smiled down at the ball and said, "Don't be sad, Nidoran. You did your best." Then he looked down at Pikachu, who was tugging at his jeans, and asked, "Are you sure you wanna fight? Geodude is part Ground-type."

"Pika!" Pikachu confirmed, rubbing between his legs before going out onto the field.

From the stands, he saw Misty give Pikachu a worried look as Daisy did for Ash. He knew what he was going to do would be risky, but there was no turning back. Pidgey could last a little longer than Butterfree, who could get knocked out from one Rock-type attack, but she would also be knocked out. Pikachu was his only option left.

"You're switching to Pikachu?" Brock asked. "Deja vu, huh? Now Geodude, Rock Throw!"

Geodude gave a roar and grabbed an armful of rocks before throwing them at Pikachu. Ash commanded "Iron Tail!", and Pikachu's tail glowed silver as he broke most of the rocks with his tail, the shards hitting Geodude. That did not, however, make Pikachu safe, for several rocks hit him too, making him squeak.

"Now use Iron Tail on Geodude!"

He briefly saw Brock look shocked before Pikachu's tail glowed silver again, and Brock relaxed just as the mouse Pokémon got close to his opponent. He (and Ash too, he admitted to himself) seemed to believe that Iron Tail would fail yet again. But when Pikachu's Iron Tail slammed Geodude hard against a pillar, knocking it out right away. Perhaps the Double Kick and Poison Point (and, perhaps, also Nidoran's Leer) had weakened Geodude so that it could not fight against Iron Tail.

"Geodude is unable to battle," the referee called. "Pikachu wins!"

"Good job, Geodude. Take a rest," Brock said and recalled Geodude while Pikachu jumped up and down from joy. Then he tossed out another PokéBall, yelling, "Onix, let's go!"

Pikachu stopped his dance of joy and cowered as the giant rock snake appeared before him with a roar. Ash once again covered his ears to block out the loud noise. It was a noise he would never really un-hear ever again.

"Give up again?" Brock asked with a smirk.

Ash shook his head, though he was still scared. "N-No," he stammered. "We just n-need to try our best!"

Brock tilted his head to one side. "You sure? I don't want to hurt your Pokémon." Ash still stood firm, so he said, "Okay then, if you say so. Onix, Bind!"

Onix sped forward and raised itself to bind itself around Pikachu. Once again, it worked, and Pikachu was wrapped up in the massive rock snake's tight embrace. It was just like when Ash had surrendered yesterday morning; if he could not do something, then he and his team would lose two times in a row.

"Pikachu, get out of there!" Ash yelled. "Iron Tail to free yourself!"

With a grunt, Pikachu started fidgeting. Onix growled in pain as it was slammed on the side with Iron Tail, and Pikachu was soon free, panting and wincing from having been squeezed.

"Not bad," Brock said after Onix reeled back. "You managed to lower his defenses."

"Pikachu, keep using Iron Tail!" Ash called.

So Pikachu's tail glowed silver and slammed it repeatedly towards Onix, who was able to evade some of the attack. Ash realized that Flint was right to give him and Pikachu the TM. It was working like a charm, and Pikachu was now able to finally learn Iron Tail. Plus, he knew that he had to thank Daisy's Eevee too, for she was his starter's mentor in Iron Tail.

At one point, Pikachu aimed for the crest on Onix's head, slamming his tail against it. Onix roared in pain and reeled back; that was probably its weak spot.

"We're just getting started," Ash muttered. "Pikachu, use Iron-"

"NOOOO!"

Ash spun around as ten kids approached him and surrounded him, all younger than him. They all had some facial similarities like Brock from the squinting eyes to the spiky brown hair, and they were all glaring at him.

"Leave Onix alone!" one of the older kids demanded.

"It's just a battle," Ash tried defending himself, not sure what to do against a mob. He wasn't one to try going into a crowd, and he was getting uncomfortable with them all surrounding him.

"Kids, back off!" Brock called. "This is an official gym badge, and we're going to finish it."

"But Brock," cried a young girl, "we know you love Onix very much!"

The oldest kid added, "That's why we won't let Onix suffer!"

"I know, Forrest, and Onix may be weakened, but the challenger and I are giving it our all," Brock replied. "It's an official gym battle, and no one is to interfere. Get back home and let us finish this fight!"

All the kids groaned and started leaving the gym. Forrest even called to Ash, "You're lucky our big bro is nice! He'd pummel you to the ground if he wasn't!"

But a glare from Misty shut him up. She appeared to not have a lot of patience with kids.

Finally, relieved of his load, Ash called, "Pikachu, Iron Tail again!"

"Onix, Rock Tomb to stop it!" Brock commanded.

Though still weakened from the Iron Tail attack, Onix was still able to summon some rocks and throw them at Pikachu. Pikachu was trapped in between the pillar of rocks like Nidoran was, but as Ash commanded him, he used Iron Tail to break free from his prison. But Brock and Onix were ready.

"Rock Polish and Tackle!"

As soon as Pikachu emerged from the Rock Tomb, Onix sharpened itself until it became fast and charged at Pikachu. The mouse Pokémon was caught off guard and was slammed to the ground before Onix picked him up with its tail, but it did not squeeze him like last time.

"Now fling it into the air and Tackle it to the ground!" Brock called.

With a roar, Onix raised its tail and tossed Pikachu into the air. Ash wasn't sure what to do now. Pikachu was being beaten again despite their best efforts, being flung around like an old rag doll. He saw Daisy look on in worry and Misty sigh and look away. He tried thinking positive thoughts, but the feeling of being beaten again made him want to cry.

But then it hit him. He remembered seeing the fight between Gengar and Nidorino on TV, where he had seen Nidorino spin in a circle before landing a hit. Perhaps Pikachu could do a Nidorino and do the same.

"Pikachu, spin in the air with Iron Tail!" Ash called. "Then slam it down!"

"Piii-KA!" Pikachu yelled, righting himself and starting to spin around in a circle while in the air. Onix was coming up at him with a roar, preparing to tackle him back down to the ground, but Pikachu was now ready. He came back down and slammed his silver-clad tail down onto Onix's face while Onix's Tackle forced him back down to the ground, where he landed with a thud. Both Pokémon were getting exhausted, but they were still able to get back up (while weary) and give each other very determined glares.

For a moment, Pikachu and Onix were staring each other down despite the latter's gigantic size. Then Onix gave a groan and fell with a massive thud down onto the arena floor, unable to get up. A silence carried over the gym, then...

"Onix is unable to battle. Pikachu wins!" the referee called. "Which means the victory goes to Ash Ketchum from Pallet Town!"

Ash couldn't believe what he had heard. He had won. He, Pikachu, and Nidoran had actually won a gym battle for the first time ever. In the battlefield, Pikachu swayed on his feet before collapsing, making Ash run over to pick him up.

"Pikachu, we won!" he whispered, hugging him tight with happy tears in his eyes. "You and Nidoran were great out there!"

Pikachu leaned up to lick his cheek, rasping, "Pika..."

"Good job, Onix. You did great out there," Brock said as he recalled Onix. Then to Ash, he said, "Come on over and get your first badge: the Boulder Badge."

So Ash let Pikachu rest easy on his shoulder before approaching Brock and accepting the badge. It was a brown badge resting in a gray case, so he took it and put it in his own blue case.

"We did it, guys!" Ash said happily, holding up Nidoran's PokéBall. "We got the Boulder Badge!"

Misty and Daisy were coming over to congratulate him, but they never got the chance. Flint was suddenly heading into the gym, sounding out of breath; he must have run a long way from somewhere. He ended up catching his breath before approaching Ash.

"You did well, kid," Flint said with a smile behind his beard. "I told you Iron Tail would work."

"Thank you, sir," Ash said with a smile.

But what happened next made them surprised.

"Dad?" Brock asked in surprise, and everyone looked over at him. Then his face hardened to anger as he growled, "You got a lot of nerve showing your face around here."

Ash was confused. Wasn't Brock happy to be near his father again? He had remembered his own father being there when he was younger except for whenever he had to leave for training. He had not seen him for a few years, and he was sure Brock had felt the same way until this happened.

"Those ten kids are his brothers and sisters, and my kids too," Flint said with shame on his face. "He has had to take care of them for so long, so he could never leave town for regional championships."

"Why weren't you around for your kids?" Daisy asked as she and Misty joined Ash.

Flint was about to answer when Brock beat him to it. "Because this pathetic excuse for a father left his family to be a Pokémon trainer, and he never came back," he growled with a glare. "Our heartbroken mom tried her best to keep the family together, but she ended up going into a coma. I'm the only one my brothers and sisters have left."

"I know, and I was too ashamed to return," Flint said with a sigh. To Ash, he added, "But I hope I was able to redeem myself by helping you. You kinda remind me of me when I was younger. And Brock," he concluded, looking at his son, "it's time I took care of my family. You can go ahead and fulfill that breeder dream of yours."

Brock sighed and looked around to where his siblings had left. Ash looked over to him as if to ask if he would be okay, but he was dismissed by a wave of his hand. It was time to go.

So Ash, Daisy, and Misty left the gym as quickly as they could. Ash knew that it would involve lots of yelling, and from experience, he hated yelling. But there was still time to go to the Pokémon center, heal his Pokémon, and call his mother to let her know that he won the badge. When he called his mother and showed off his badge, she had been happy to see him on his way to becoming an actual Pokémon trainer.

But now, it was time to leave Pewter City. It was around three in the afternoon, so Ash and the girls left after Pikachu and Nidoran were healed. He had also left Nidoran at Professor Oak's lab for some training, the professor assuring him that Nidoran would get stronger.

"If you want to call Nidoran back, call me anytime," Professor Oak had said as he accepted Nidoran. "And I heard from your mother that you got your first badge. Seven more to go, and you'll be in the Indigo League in no time!"

**...**

"Why couldn't we do anything about it?" Ash asked as they reached the edge of town. They had gotten supplies for dinner from a store along with Pokémon chow and medicine, and they had to go through Mount Moon before going to Cerulean City.

"Because it's none of our business," Misty told him sharply. "Family matters like this need to involve family and no one else." As she said this, Ash could hear the bitterness in her voice.

"Still, you got your first badge," Daisy added, perhaps trying to change the subject. She gave him a gentle hug, saying, "I'm proud of you. Now the next badge you can get is from Cerulean City. And you know that Misty is the gym leader there."

Ash nodded and looked around at Misty. She still looked bitter with a scowl, but Ash realized that it was not directed at him. Just before he could ask her what she was mad about, someone approached them and stopped. It was Brock.

"What happened with you and your dad?" Daisy asked.

Brock looked back towards the gym and said, "I wanted to take a break from watching over my brothers and sisters for a little change. I love 'em all, but I couldn't do everything by myself. Besides, I've always wanted to be the world's greatest Pokémon breeder."

"What about your dad?" Misty asked. "Aren't you mad at him?"

"Kinda," Brock admitted. "But he and I worked things out. He can take care of the kids while I'm gone. By the way, you're on a journey, right, Ash?" Ash nodded and looked away, then Brock said, "Well, I was wondering if I can come along with you guys on this trip. Thanks to watching out for my siblings, I can cook, clean, and settle disputes like a pro. So what do you say?"

Ash did not know what to say. Another gym leader was going to join them on their journey, bringing their numbers up from three to four. He looked around at Misty and Daisy to ask what to do.

"Should we let him join?" he asked.

"The more, the merrier," Daisy said with a friendly smile. "And hey, at least I won't get to cook all the time."

Misty nodded, looking a bit more cheerful. "Same here," she said. "Just don't try hitting on us along the way."

Brock nodded. "Don't worry. These hands are only gonna grope some pots and pans," he said with a proud smile.

This made Ash smile a bit and laugh. Brock would be a good companion to travel with, full of laughs and wisdom. And now that he had gotten his first badge ever, he was on his way to becoming a true Pokémon trainer.

**_To be continued..._**

**...**

**Wildstar93: There we go, folks. Ash has gotten his first badge the right way! And I hope you all like this chapter; if you find something wrong here, please let me know, and I'll fix it. I appreciate constructive criticism as long as you're polite about it.**

**From now on, I won't add too much on Ash's autism in this story. Like a reviewer said, it's not just about autism. This is about Ash growing up to become a Pokémon trainer. Autism doesn't entierly define you; it's what you do with your character that counts. By the way, some episodes of the series might not appear in this at all. And here are the current teams of our travelers.**

**Ash: Pikachu (Thundershock, Tail Whip, Quick Attack, Iron Tail), Pidgey (Tackle, Gust, Sand Attack, Quick Attack), Butterfree (Tackle, Confusion, String Shot, Gust)  
At Professor Oak's lab: Nidoran (Peck, Leer, Double Kick, Focus Energy)**

**Daisy: Eevee (Tackle, Iron Tail, Helping Hand, Tail Whip), Beedrill (Poison Sting, Agility, String Shot, Pin Missle)**

**Misty: Staryu (Rapid Spin, Water Gun, Harden), Starmie (Swift, Water Pulse, Recover, Rapid Spin), Goldeen (Splash, Water Gun, Horn Attack, Tail Whip)**

**Brock: Geodude (Rock Throw, Rock Polish, Tackle, Defense Curl), Onix (Rock Tomb, Rock Polish, Tackle, Bind)**


	12. Shady Magikarp Man

**Wildstar93: Hey there, everyone, and welcome back to Journey Of An Autistic Trainer! I've decided to work on this story along with writing my books, so my hands are gonna be a little tied. But it'll be worth it.**

**I've been thinking of having one of them get a new Pokémon here. Daisy might get a new Pokémon here, and so might Brock. To those who saw the anime, I bet you know what it'll be. And thanks to people telling me more about Daisy, I've decided that she can be either a masseuse or a doctor. I had forgotten about Daisy massaging your Pokémon in HeartGold and SoulSilver.**

**By the way, this is kind of a filler episode. Please forgive me for making this a filler episode.**

**Uploading Date: September 12, 2015**

**Enjoy!**

**...**

_**Shady Magikarp Man**_

"So you're autistic, huh? I have an autistic little sister, and she's a handful! But I still love her and the others to death."

Ash smiled when he heard that. Brock was a friendly guy once he finally got to talk to him, really becoming an older brother type of person. He had mentioned all the times he had been a flirt before settling down as a gym leader and a parental substitute, and Ash felt like he was talking to a veteran.

They had left Pewter City an hour ago, going through a canyon path that led to the entrance of Mount Moon. The Pokémon there included Pidgey and some Geodude posing as boulders. Daisy had almost tripped over one of the Geodude, and Ash's Pidgey had gotten into a fight with some of the wild Pidgey.

"Yeah," he said. "My mom said I was diagnosed when I was two years old."

Brock nodded. "Quite early, though not the earliest time for a diagnosis," the Pewter gym leader remarked. "So you had a bit of education before starting your Pokémon journey, right?"

"He did, but he got bullied in school," Daisy said with a frown. "He was a favorite to some teachers, so other kids started picking on him, and my brother had to jump into the bullying bandwagon. So he had to be home-schooled."

It was Ash's turn to frown. He had remembered when he and Gary had been friends when they were younger. But for some odd reason, Gary had started being more hostile towards him, taunting him and calling him stupid and weak. It was Daisy who had stuck up for him, and as a result, his mother had to teach him at home, to avoid the bullying and cruel taunting about being himself.

"I'm sorry to hear that," Brock said. "The same thing happened to my little sister, so I home-schooled her too. But hey, like you, she can go out and start her own Pokémon journey, experiencing the world.

"Hey guys, I'm back." Misty was just rounding a corner, a map in one hand. "I was just looking ahead, and there's a Pokémon center nearby."

Ash and Daisy were relieved to hear that. They had walked and battled all the time they were on Route 3. Brock, however, looked down as he muttered, "There goes my night to cook."

"It's okay," Ash said. "We can eat in Mount Moon."

"Yeah, you're right. Oh, and Ash." Brock tossed what appeared to be a wad of cash to Ash, who caught it in time before it hit the ground. "I forgot to give you that and the TM Rock Tomb after our battle. Sorry about all that."

So they packed up whatever they could (Ash had to recall Pidgey to prevent more fights with the wild Pidgey), and they set off down the road. They were tired by the time they arrived at the Pokémon center, shaded from the hot sun by the tall mountains above them. As they headed inside towards Nurse Joy, who was waiting for them, Misty went first, saying that she and Daisy got to go because, as they said, "ladies first". So Ash and Brock had to wait for their turn.

That was when Ash decided to give his mother a call. It was near dinner, and he wanted to let her know he was all right. He headed to the phone in the corner and dialed her number until her face appeared on the screen.

"Hey, Mom," Ash greeted her.

His mother's surprised look turned to joy. "Ash!" she greeted back. "It's good to see you again! Are you still at Pewter City?"

Ash shook his head. "I told you, we're going to Cerulean City," he said. "We just have to get through Mount Moon."

"Mount Moon?" The joy on her face turned to fear and worry. "I've heard that it's a hard mountain to go through. There's lots of Zubat, and I heard criminals live there too! Ash, be careful!"

"Don't worry, ma'am," Brock said right away, joining Ash at the phone. "He's got us to help him."

His mother blinked before asking, "You're Brock from Pewter City, aren't you? I've seen you only a few times."

Brock nodded. "Yep. I decided to go on a journey with Ash, Daisy, and Misty. Is that fine with you?"

"Yes, that's very fine. As long as you make sure Ash doesn't get into any trouble," Delia said. "And Ash, I hope you and your friends get through Mount Moon okay. I don't want you getting hurt."

"I'll be fine, Mom," Ash assured her. "And I better go. We gotta heal our Pokémon before we head out."

Delia nodded and said, "All right, sweetie. Let me know when you get to Cerulean City. And Professor Oak said that Nidoran's enjoying himself at his lab. I love you, Ash."

Ash smiled and said, "I'm glad to hear that. I love you too, Mom", before he hung up.

He went over to the receptionist desk where Daisy and Misty had already had their Pokémon healed up. But as Ash and Brock gave Nurse Joy their Pokémon for healing, Ash found himself remembering his mother's warnings about Mount Moon. What if there were really criminals in there? Would he and his friends be able to get through Mount Moon without any harm?

All of a sudden, Ash felt something nudging his leg. He was about to tell Pikachu to stop when he looked to the side and saw Pikachu on his shoulder, looking down at whatever was nudging him. He finally looked down to see a golden fish flopping around as if trying to tell him something.

So Ash pulled out his Pokédex to examine the fish. It said, _"Magikarp is the Fish Pokémon. A Magikarp living for many years can leap a mountain using Splash. The move remains useless, though."_

That was when Ash did a double-take to the Pokédex and the Magikarp. The Magikarp in the Pokédex had reddish-orange scales while the one flopping before him had golden scales. Was this a rare subspecies of Magikarp?

"Wow...look at that!" Daisy had come up beside him, Misty and Brock behind her. "It's a shiny Magikarp! Shiny Pokémon are really rare, you know."

Misty, however, had a different reaction. She was looking down at the Magikarp with a face that looked like it wanted to eat her.

"What's wrong?" Brock asked with a chuckle. "Magikarp got your tongue?"

"It's not funny!" Misty snapped at him. "I'm not comfortable around Gyarados!"

Ash saw that Magikarp was looking down from the comment, and he was reminded of how Misty treated Butterfree back then. "I don't think it'll bite," he said. "It's not vicious or anything."

Misty glared at him now. "It might evolve and be angry!" she retorted. "And then it'll eat you up!"

Daisy arched an eyebrow. "Eat you up?" Daisy asked. "What're you talking about?"

"I was almost eaten as a baby, okay?" Misty snapped, though her fear and anger weren't as strong as before. "When I was little, I crawled into a Gyarados' mouth, and it almost ate me without it noticing. My parents got me out okay, but my sisters always teased me about it after that." Her anger was back as she hissed, "If they just warned me instead of teasing me all the time, then I wouldn't be scared of Gyarados!"

That was when Ash remembered the time when Misty had yelled at him in the Viridian Forest. Was that why she had been mean? Because her sisters had been mean to her as well? And he would be scared of Gyarados too if it had eaten him.

"Hey kids!" They looked to the side where a seedy-looking man was standing in a corner. As they approached him, he said, "I saw you eyin' that Magikarp. It's yours, but only if you can pay for it."

"Really?" Daisy asked, and Ash could see the mistrust on her face. "How much?"

The man looked down at a receipt and said, "I'd say...five hundred Poké Dollars."

"Five HUNDRED Poké Dollars?!" Misty shouted in surprise. "That's high-way robbery!"

"Better than a thousand Poké, right?" the man said with a smirk. "So which of you lucky kids wants this Magikarp? I'd add in an extra five hundred because it's a shiny Magikarp, but I wanna avoid nasty eyes."

Ash wasn't sure if he could accept this Magikarp. Even if he felt sorry for it, he wasn't sure if he could handle that much power on the day it evolved. A monster capable of destroying a city would overwhelm him, and he would feel awful if it caused any damage or loss of life.

Finally, someone spoke: it was Daisy. "I'll take it," she said, fishing out some cash. "This is the last bit of money I'll have until I go to an ATM."

"Then it's yours," the man said as he accepted the cash. He pushed out a PokéBall and the Magikarp, saying with a perverted leer, "You're a pretty lucky gal, miss...and rather pretty too."

"Don't push it," Daisy warned him. She picked up Magikarp and said with a warm smile, "Hey there, Magikarp. I'm going to take good care of you from now on. You ready for an adventure with me and my friends?"

Magikarp's forlorn look had turned to joy as it flopped around in her arms, cheering, "Karp, Karp! Magikarp!"

Daisy smiled at its antics, and Brock had his arms folded as he nodded in approval. Ash saw Misty look anxious before she gave a small smile too. Perhaps in time, the Cerulean City gym leader could lighten up to Magikarp some more.

"Ash of Pallet Town and Brock of Pewter City, your Pokémon are healed and happy to go," Nurse Joy's voice suddenly rang out. "Come pick them up!"

Ash and Brock walked over to where Nurse Joy was waiting for them. On one tray were two PokéBalls, and on the other were two other Pokémon and Pikachu. The mouse Pokémon gave a happy squeak before jumping at Ash and landing on his shoulder, licking his cheek.

"Feeling better, Pikachu?" Ash asked with a smile.

"Pika!" Pikachu cheered.

"Time sure flies by when you travel," Nurse Joy said with a smile. "Why don't you and your friends spend the night here?"

Brock nodded. "That's what we're fixing to do. But first..." He suddenly rested a hand on the desk and said, "You wanna go to dinner with me first?"

A snort from the side made Ash look around. Misty was snickering at what Brock was doing, and Daisy looked slightly embarrassed. It looked like Brock wasn't kidding when he said he was a lech.

"No, thank you. I already ate," Nurse Joy replied. Brock sighed at this, and she added, "Anyway, your rooms are on the second floor. If you want any dinner in the cafeteria, it's that way," she added, pointing to the left.

So Ash and his friends went to have their dinner, along with their Pokémon, eleven in all. Once they were done, they went outside to do some training. Ash no longer had to fight a Rock-type gym leader, but that was no excuse to _not _go training. Since Misty was a Water-type gym leader, Ash had to develop a new way of battling, such as using Pikachu's Thundershock and teaching Butterfree a Grass-type move. Pikachu seemed very eager to training for this gym battle, and Ash believed that his starter had still not forgiven Misty for yelling at him.

During the training, Butterfree was trying to learn Gust instead of a Grass-type move. It turned out that he could not learn Grass-type moves while leveling up, so Gust had to do. Pidgey was training harder than ever, and Ash guessed that she had gotten some practice from battling the wild Pidgey. Beside him, Daisy was training Magikarp to dodge Beedrill's Poison Sting, but poor Magikarp got hit every time, so Daisy had to use antidotes on him.

Finally, it was time to go to bed. Ash was feeling more tired than a hibernating Rattata, so he fell asleep pretty quickly. If they were to go through Mount Moon, he would need all the rest he could.

...

The next morning near dawn, Ash had woken up, noticing that Pidgey and Butterfree had come out to sleep next to him. He was about to nudge Nidoran away when he remembered in time that he didn't have Nidoran with him right now. This left him wishing he had kept Nidoran with him; that way, he would get to know Nidoran more. But he could do it later, so he recalled all his Pokémon except Pikachu into their PokéBalls, and he started getting ready.

When he got downstairs after getting a shower, he met up with Daisy in the lobby. She had all three of her Pokémon out, grooming Eevee's silky brown coat while Beedrill and Magikarp waited for their turn.

"Good morning, Ash," Daisy greeted him as she looked up from checking over Eevee's coat. "You're up early. Ready to get going?"

Ash nodded. "Yep. Can we get breakfast first?"

Daisy nodded. "You go without me," she said. "I just need to finish grooming Beedrill and Magikarp first."

So Ash and Pikachu went into the cafeteria, where they were serving sausage patties, toast, and juice. He was joined by Misty and Brock, who had already finished and waited until he was done. Then they had to do the same for Daisy, who had spent her time grooming Beedrill and Magikarp and had to take breakfast on the road.

"Finally!" Brock said with a chuckle once Daisy was done. "You ready to go through Mount Moon?"

"As ready as I'll ever be," Daisy replied.

Ash smiled. "Great! Now let's go! I can't wait until we reach Cerulean City."

Misty rolled her eyes and said, "As long as you don't trip over everything." Ash slowed down when he heard that; Misty still sounded bitter about heading to Cerulean City, but not angry.

And with spirits high, they headed into the cave of Mount Moon. When they did so, Ash thought, _How hard can Mount Moon be?_

_**To be continued...**_

**...**

**Wildstar93: There we have it, folks. I hope you like how Daisy got a shiny Magikarp, and I hope you like this chapter. If you find something wrong here, please let me know and I'll fix it. I appreciate constructive criticism as long as you're polite about it.**

**One of my FanFiction friends, Julia Lucrezia Hanazono, has made a rather good FanFiction story about an autistic ****Pokémon trainer from the Johto region. It's really good, and I believe she's better at writing about autism than I am. I highly recommend reading that story.**

**By the way, Ash's autism will be mentioned a few times, only a few. Like I said before, this journey isn't about autism. It's about Ash growing in heart, mind, and soul.**

**See ya next time!**


	13. Deep In Mount Moon

**Wildstar93: Hey there, everyone, and welcome back to Journey Of An Autistic Trainer! I can't believe how focused on it I am now. I thought I'd put it to the side to write some more of my books, but I guess time has other ideas.**

**So...Mount Moon. Home of the ****Pokémon fossils, the Moon Stone, and too many Zubat. In the anime, it took them just one episode to get between Pewter City and Cerulean City, but hey, at least it showed a Zubat colony. As one person asked me, will Brock get a Zubat this time? Will Ash and his friends make it through Mount Moon unscathed? Will Ash quit using the ****Pokédex?**

**Okay, the last answer is no. But as for the rest, you'll have to see for yourself.**

**Uploading Date: September 26, 2015**

**Enjoy!**

**...**

_**Deep In Mount Moon**_

"Are we there yet?" Ash asked for the third time they were in the cave.

Brock was about to answer when Misty retorted, "For the third time, no! We'll get there when we get there!"

The four of them had gone into Mount Moon at last, but it was as tough as Ash's mother had said. There were lots of Zubat resting on the ceiling of the cave, and Ash scanned it on his Pokédex: _"Zubat is the Bat __Pokémon. It checks its surroundings and location using reflections of the ultrasonic waves from its mouth." _He put it back to see the blue bat-like Pokémon, watching them with...invisible eyes, but he guessed they were watching them by hearing them with their big ears.

"Zubat here, Zubat there, this place is crowded by Zubat!" Ash exclaimed.

"Well, we don't want to wake them up," Brock told him in a hushed whisper. "So try and keep it down."

Ash quickly nodded. He tried staying as quiet as Pikachu, who clung onto his shoulder and held a paw to his mouth, indicating silence. This made Ash laugh a little from how Pikachu was displaying human traits, but he remembered Brock's warning, so he quieted down.

Not only were there flocks of Zubat, but it was also pretty dark in there. Ash had to use the Pokédex to light the way for him and his friends to go up ahead. As they headed into the cave, they saw what looked like little crab Pokémon with mushrooms on their backs scuttle out of the way. His Pokédex beeped, and it said, _"Paras is the Mushroom __Pokémon. Mushrooms called tochukaso grow on its back. They grow along with the host Paras."_

"Shh!" Misty suddenly hissed at him. "What did Brock just say? Turn that Pokédex off, and be quiet!"

Ash felt ashamed, but he pushed down the sadness from being scolded at. "Okay," he mumbled.

"Pika..." Pikachu said, licking his cheek before glaring at the back of Misty's head.

"It's okay, buddy," Ash said, patting Pikachu's head. He had almost forgotten that Pikachu was a therapy Pokémon, to help him out with emotional problems. "She's right, anyway. We gotta keep down the noise."

Pikachu nodded, holding his paw to his own mouth.

At the front, Brock was asking, "So Daisy, find anything yet?"

Daisy put down a map she had made of Mount Moon. "No, not yet," she said. "More dead ends, and more Paras and Zubat."

"Maybe we might find a Moon Stone or two," Brock remarked. "Those are rare stones, and few Pokémon can evolve that way. Especially the Clefairy here."

Ash joined in the talk by asking, "Clefairy?"

Misty caught up with them too, saying, "Yeah. They're cute fairy Pokémon that live only here at Mount Moon. I heard it's the only place in the world you can find them."

"I don't know about that," Brock said with a grin. "From what I heard, Clefairy could also be found in Sinnoh, Unova, and Hoenn. Though they're pretty rare since they're shy and nocturnal."

Ash listened on, happy to learn this new information. As his mother had told him, you could learn something new every day.

All of a sudden, a scream echoed in the cave. It frightened Ash so much that he huddled next to Daisy, who had been surprised by the scream and with Ash clinging onto her.

"What's wrong?" Daisy asked, a hint of pink blush on her face.

"Did you hear that?" Ash asked as Pikachu's ears twitched for the sound again.

"I'm hearing it too," Brock said. "That, and I see a light at the end of this cave."

"Well, what're we waiting for?" Misty spoke up, pushing her way to the front. "Let's go!"

So they made their way over to the light, and when they stepped out, they were amazed. They were outside the mountain, but they were still surrounded by the mountain. In this little clearing, there was some grass, and a stream cut its way through the middle. The weather outside was good, the wind a little cool and the sun shining overhead.

But they stopped looking around when they saw where the scream had come from. A man was being swarmed by a big flock of Zubat, clutching something and keeping it away from them.

"That guy's being attacked by Zubat!" Daisy whispered.

"Butterfree, I choose you!" Ash called, throwing Butterfree's PokéBall out. As Butterfree came out with a cry, he called, "Help Pikachu drive away those Zubat! Thundershock and Confusion!"

His friends gave him surprised looks before they nodded. "Beedrill, Poison Sting!" Daisy called, summoning Beedrill.

Misty and Brock did the same with Staryu and Geodude respectively. At their commands, Pikachu, Butterfree, and Beedrill started firing electricity, psychic waves and poisonous darts at the Zubat swarm. Beside them, Staryu and Geodude launched a Water Gun and a Rock Throw at them. Out of all the moves, Pikachu, Butterfree, and Geodude's moves did the most damage while Beedrill's attack did the least.

The attacks did the trick anyway. The Zubat swarm was startled into flight as they started to head back into the cave. Just then, Ash saw Brock toss out a PokéBall, and one unlucky Zubat was caught and sucked inside. The ball rolled around three times before it stopped with a click.

"I thought you liked Rock types?" Ash asked curiously.

"Just because gym leaders use one type doesn't mean they can't experience with others," Brock informed him. To the man in the white lab coat, he asked, "You okay, sir?"

The man got up thanks to Daisy and Misty and nodded, clutching some note. "Yes, I am now, thanks," he said. "And thank you so much for driving those Zubat away! If you kids weren't around, they would've taken my notes! They say man's best friend is a Pokémon, and with you guys, I believe it!" He adjusted his glasses and said, "By the way, don't call me 'sir'. Just Seymour will do, and I've been studying how Clefairy is connected to the Moon Stone."

"I heard they evolve with a Moon Stone," Ash said, happy to share Brock's smarts with other people.

"I mean besides that," Seymour told him. "I mean, why they are linked to the Moon Stone, and what they do with it. That, and I want you to see something."

He started heading into the cave where the Zubat fled into. Ash felt confused. Why would Seymour head in that direction. But he saw his friends already going ahead of him, so he and Pikachu headed inside after them.

Ash was expecting darkness when he got into the cave. But instead, there were lights on the walls, lights that were too bright for the cave. As he and his friends followed Seymour through the cave, they noticed something odd. A group of Paras was on the pathway, plucking their mushrooms off their backs and planting them in the ground. Several brown shrew-like Pokémon called Sandshrew were lying down on their backs, panting and looking uncomfortable.

"What's going on?" Ash asked.

"That's what I'm figuring out," Seymour said. "The Paras are taking the mushrooms off their backs, and the heat is causing the Sandshrew to try and cool themselves down. Whoever put those lights there are disrupting nature."

"But why would they do that?" Misty asked. "Who'd be dumb enough to disrupt the Pokémon here?"

Seymour had started jotting stuff down on his notes. "It could be the Moon Stone, said to be a million years old, and it's said to lie deep in these caves. Though no one has found it, we've studied its fragments for years and discovered it increases a Pokémon's power. It may even enhance Mega Evolution!" he added with a smile.

Ash was very curious now. "Mega Evolution? What's that?"

"We don't know that yet," Seymour said. "But we heard that it's said to bring out a Pokémon's potential power and make it more powerful!"

_Wow...that sounds awesome! _Ash thought, his heart swelling in awe. He wondered if Pikachu could go through this Mega Evolution, or maybe Pidgey, Butterfree, or Nidoran.

Just then, something was passing by them. Thanks to the light in the cave, they saw that it was a light pink fairy-like Pokémon bouncing happily by them, singing "Clefairy, Clefairy". It was even holding a shard of what looked like a meteor in its chubby hands.

_"Clefairy is the Fairy __Pokémon," _Ash's Pokédex announced. _"It is said that happiness will come to those who see a gathering of Clefairy dancing under a full moon."_

They watched as Clefairy danced around the corner and went into one tunnel, vanishing from their view. Ash was just about to ask Pikachu what he thought of the Clefairy when a frightened Pokémon's cry echoed from the tunnel. _Clefairy's in trouble! _he thought and started heading down the tunnel.

A Meowth was blocking the way, two adults with familiar white suits that had the letter R on the front. Ash now recognized them. They were these thugs called Team Rocket, the three who had attacked them at the Viridian City Pokémon center. Right now, one of them was clutching the terrified Clefairy, which was wailing and flailing around in the lavender-haired man's clutches. To Ash's fury, Meowth ended up clawing at its face, making it wail even louder.

"Hey!" Ash called, making them look around. "Let Clefairy go!"

The two adults looked up from the Clefairy before glaring at them in anger. "It's those twerps again!" the red-haired woman named Jessie growled. "From Viridian City!"

"How did they find us and the others out here?" the lavender-haired man named James asked.

The talking Meowth responded, "Don't worry! Send out your Pokémon, and those twoips will be history!"

"And who's the other twerp?" Jessie asked, gesturing to Brock.

"I'm Brock, the Pewter City gym leader," Brock said. "And who are you?"

The two adults and Meowth chuckled darkly before launching into the motto Ash had heard from before.

"Prepare for trouble!"

"And make it double!"

"To protect the world from devastation!"

"To unite all peoples within our nation!"

"To denounce the evils of truth and love!"

"To extend our reach to the stars above!"

"Jessie!" the redheaded woman announced.

"James!" the violet-haired man added.

"Team Rocket! Blasting off at the speed of light!"

"Surrender now, or prepare to fight!"

"Meowth! That's right!" the Meowth added.

"I've heard of this group!" Seymour said as he hid behind Ash and his friends. "They steal and mistreat Pokémon. I'm not a fighter, so _please _save the Clefairy!"

"Pidgey! Butterfree! I choose you!" Ash called as he sent out his other two Pokémon.

"Geodude and Zubat, let's go!" Brock called. As Geodude and a Zubat emerged from their PokéBalls, Daisy and Misty gave him looks of surprise. He just shrugged and said, "What? I thought I'd catch a little something while the Zubat were distracted."

_That's like with Daisy and her Beedrill, _Ash mused, thinking of back when they were in Viridian Forest.

Speaking of Beedrill, he, Eevee, and Magikarp were sent out of their PokéBalls, ready to fight. Alongside them, Misty had called out Goldeen, Staryu, and Starmie, the latter two standing between Goldeen to support her.

"It's a shiny Magikarp!" Meowth exclaimed, his eyes glowing with greed. Ash could see them look over at the shiny Magikarp flailing and sparkling and wanting to get into the fight.

Jessie and James shared delighted looks before the former said, "Well, what're we waiting for? Let's grab it!"

"Not while I'm around!" Daisy retorted. "Beedrill, Poison Sting! Eevee, Iron Tail!"

Beedrill fired poisonous darts at Ekans while Eevee jumped at Koffing, her tail glowing silver. Ekans lowered its head to avoid the darts fired at him, and Koffing was forced back into a corner, keeping afloat with its gases. Even Magikarp got into the battle, flopping and slapping at any intruder with her tail.

Suddenly, four Rattata and three other Zubat emerged from the darkness, charging into battle. Behind Jessie and James were two other people, with black suits bearing the red letter 'R' on the front. Now the battle had turned into a ten-on-ten match between the good guys and the bad guys.

"Pikachu and Butterfree, Thundershock and Confusion on the Zubat!" Ash called as he recalled doing the same to the wild Zubat swarm.

Pikachu and Butterfree fired their attacks at the Zubat, hoping to scare them off. But instead of retreating, the swarm opened their mouths and let out loud squeaks that echoed throughout the cave. Ash could not stand the sound, but he could not lose focus. Instead, he directed Pidgey and Pikachu over to the swarm of Rattata that were running at them.

In the meantime, Geodude and Starmie were defending a flopping Goldeen from Koffing and Ekans. Ekans had just wrapped its coils around Starmie, trying to bite the gem in its center, when Pidgey rammed into Ekans, striking it with her wings. The snake Pokémon turned its attention to her, hissing and lunging at her with its fangs bared. It was too late for Pidgey to flee, for Ekans's glare paralyzed her, and she ended up getting wrapped up in its coils.

"Pidgey!" Ash called, his heart beating from dread as Ekans began squeezing Pidgey hard. It was like with Butterfree all over again; he did not want to lose a Pokémon for real this time. And whenever Pikachu got close to free Pidgey, Ekans would warn him back with an angry hiss.

That was when Pidgey began glowing white, forcing Ekans to let her go. She was growing taller, and feathers were growing out of her head. When the glowing stopped, a bigger bird was in her place with a pinkish-red head crest, spreading larger wings than a Pidgey's wings.

Ash's Pokédex beeped, and he took it out so it could say, _"Pidgeotto is the Bird __Pokémon, and it evolves from Pidgey. It flies over its wide territory in search of prey, downing it with its highly developed claws."_

"Pidgeotto, Tackle!" Ash called, happy that another one of his Pokémon had evolved. "Follow it up with Gust!"

Pidgeotto chirped with resolution and charged at Koffing, knocking it back at a lunging Ekans. Then she started flapping her wings hard, summoning a more powerful gust. Cheered by Pidgeotto's evolution, the gang's Pokémon started fighting back. Pikachu started firing electric spheres on his tail and flinging them at the Zubat, Butterfree and Beedrill dived among them and fired their attacks, and Geodude, Eevee, and Staryu were helping Starmie be rid of Meowth, all teaming up on him.

Finally, the Team Rocket grunts could take it no more. They started recalling their Pokémon and began stepping back. Jessie and James did the same, but not before bringing out their nets. Meowth did the same.

"Retreat!" one of the black-clothed grunts growled at them. "Get the lights! We got what we wanted anyway!"

"But what about that Magikarp?" James called back, a hint of a whine in his voice. "It's shiny!"

The grunt snarled at him, "Do you value your pride or Pokémon? Now let's get the lights and retreat! We'll get back at them!"

So they collected all their stuff, and they all started heading down towards the back tunnel. Ash looked away from them and saw Pikachu and Butterfree complimenting Pidgeotto on evolving at last. He got them over to Daisy, who had started healing the rest of the Pokémon along with Brock. He had forgotten how good a nurse Daisy was to their Pokémon.

"Ash, that was a really reckless thing to do. You could've been killed!" Misty scolded Ash, who lowered his gaze in shame. But then she smiled and said, "But I gotta admit that you're pretty brave too."

Now Ash looked up at her with a smile. "Thanks, Misty. But I'm not really that brave."

"_All _four of you are really brave," Seymour said with wide eyes. "Thanks for saving the Clefairy! Now they'll be able to live happily on in Mount Moon, and thanks to Team Rocket taking their lights with them, the native Pokémon will be back to normal soon." He dug into his backpack and fished out two rocks. "These here are the Helix Fossil and the Dome Fossil, discovered here in Mount Moon. I was going to take them to Cinnabar Island and revive them at the lab there, but since you saved the Pokémon here, how about you do it for me?"

Ash and his friends shared excited looks. They would finally see prehistoric Pokémon brought to life at Cinnabar. But who would take them?

"I'll take the Dome Fossil," Brock spoke up at last. "If they're fossils, then these Pokémon ought to be Rock-types."

"And I'll take the Helix Fossil," Misty added.

Seymour smiled. "That's great!" he said. "They'll be revived into powerful Pokémon, that's for sure! By the way," he went on, fishing something out of his pockets. He showed them glowing dark gray stones, saying, "While you were fighting those crooks, I managed to bag some of the shards of the Moon Stone. If you tap a Pokémon on the head with this, they'll evolve! Do you have any Pokémon who can evolve this way?"

"No, but I have a Nidoran," Ash said, accepting one of the stones. "Doesn't it evolve with a Moon Stone?"

Misty looked incredulous at what Ash said, apparently miffed that he did not know about this, but Daisy and Brock looked more patient. "Close," the former said, giving Misty a warning look. "It has to evolve into a Nidorino first before it can use the Moon Stone."

"Correct!" Seymour added. Clefairy was nodding in agreement, chirping, "Clef, Clefairy!"

"So are you gonna join us?" Brock asked as he and Misty put the fossils in their bags. "We can always have more companions. The more, the merrier."

"No thank you," Seymour declined. "I'm going to stay here for a while before I return to Pewter City. Good luck on your journey, kids! I hope we meet again!"

So they waved their goodbyes and went on their way. It was darker than it was with Team Rocket's lights around, but at least the Pokémon were at peace now. Ash used his Pokédex's light to see how they were doing. The Zubat swarm snoozed above them, and the Paras were putting the mushrooms they planted earlier back onto their backs.

They had some more ways to go until they would reach the exit. During that, Ash took the time to scan his Pokémon on the Pokédex, turning the volume down as he remembered Brock and Misty's warnings. Pikachu currently knew Thundershock, Quick Attack, Double Team, and the electric sphere move called Electro Ball. Butterfree and Pidgeotto's moves were the same, though he was sure Pidgeotto's attacks had gotten stronger. His Butterfree had gone through the same thing, and though Misty's Staryu and Starmie were related, Starmie was stronger.

Finally, the cave opened way to a path outside, and as they got outside, it was sunset already. The sky was already orange from the sunset, with creamy pink clouds rolling above them. It was leading away from the mountains and out towards what looked like a city in the distance. Ash was just wondering if they were there when Brock took out the map.

"Yep, we got through," he said. "And it took us nearly a day to get through!"

"A whole day?" Misty asked, surprised as she looked out towards the city. "Can we stay one more night out here? Just before we go there?"

Brock shook his head. "Nah. Ash's mom will want to check on him, and I wanted to see if Dad's doing okay with the kids."

Ash listened to their banter before looking around at a bush near the path. In front of the bush was a sign that said _Route 4. Next: Cerulean City_ in large black letters. But he also noticed something smaller and written in red. His friends noticed him and went over to the sign, reading it.

"'Gary was here. Ash is a loser,'" Daisy read the small message, and Ash couldn't help but feel low as he gently rocked himself on his feet. It seemed that Gary's hatred of him was still strong. He saw Daisy glare towards Cerulean City and hiss, "My brother's really something, isn't he?"

"Hey, you were talking about him before we got into Mount Moon," Brock piped up. "Wasn't he the kid who always picked on him in school?"

Daisy nodded. "Yep. He's the one...well, not the only one." She had noticed Ash looking down and asked, "You okay? Gary saying all that's not bothering you, is it?"

"A bit," Ash lied, for the way his former friend was treating him was painful. But he could not give up now. He would not cry and cower and let Gary bully him all his life. "But I won't give up. I'll show him that I can be as good a Pokémon trainer as him. Right, Pikachu?" he asked his therapy Pokémon.

"Pika!" Pikachu answered.

_**To be continued...**_

**...**

**Warrior Cat Cody: There we go, done at last! Not with the story, though. I don't know when it'll end, but when it gets there, it gets there. And I hope you like this chapter. If not or if you see anything wrong here, let me know, and I'll fix it. I appreciate constructive criticism as long as you're polite about it.**

**And to one reviewer not on this story (Avatar Cat: The Last AirClan Cat Book 3): I _do_ respect Zuko; I just came up with a warrior name, and that's it. Nothing bad. Please don't insult the way I name cats or others in my Warrior stories. Thank you.**

**Ash: Pikachu (Thundershock, Quick Attack, Double Team, Electro Ball), Pidgeotto (Wing Attack, Gust, Sand Attack, Wing Attack), Butterfree (String Shot, Confusion, Tackle, Gust)  
At Professor Oak's: Nidoran (Peck, Double Kick, Focus Energy, Poison Sting)**

**Daisy: Eevee (Tackle, Iron Tail, Helping Hand, Tail Whip), Beedrill (Poison Sting, Agility, String Shot, Pin Missile), Magikarp (Splash)**

**Misty: Staryu (Rapid Spin, Water Gun, Harden), Starmie (Swift, Water Pulse, Recover, Rapid Spin), Goldeen (Splash, Water Gun, Horn Attack, Tail Whip)**

**Brock: Geodude (Rock Throw, Rock Polish, Tackle, Defense Curl), Onix (Rock Tomb, Rock Polish, Tackle, Bind)**

**See ya next time!**


	14. Cerulean City's Sensational Sisters

**Wildstar93: Hey there, everyone, and welcome back to Journey Of An Autistic Trainer! There's no action in this chapter (just wait for the next one), but it'll be worth the wait. By the way, this will be a mix of the anime and games. I have not read the manga yet, so until I do, any ******Pokémon FanFic of mine** will not have much of the manga in here.  
**

**Okay, I've had people asking me if Ash will get a special ****Pokémon. And I gotta say, I agree. I already gave Misty and Brock the fossils of Omanyte and Kabuto, and I gave Daisy a shiny Magikarp. So why not give Ash something like a Riolu or a shiny ****Pokémon of his own? I know it's been done oh so many times in FanFiction, but now I see the potential of Ash owning a Riolu.**

**Uploading Date: September 27, 2015**

**Enjoy!**

**...**

_**Cerulean City's Sensational Sisters**_

By the time Ash and his friends made it to Cerulean City, night had already fallen, and they had finished battling a trainer or two along the way. Ash saw Misty breathe a sigh of relief and guessed why. He guessed she did not have to confront her sisters right away and felt himself agreeing with her.

As soon as they arrived at the Pokémon center, Ash decided to call his mother, as he usually did. He had given his Pokémon to Brock to heal them, and he headed over to the phone and dialed her phone number.

"Hey, Mom," Ash said as soon as Delia showed up on the screen. "We made it to Cerulean City."

"That's great!" Delia said with a smile. "Were you good during Mount Moon?"

Ash nodded. "We're fine," he said. "And we came across Team Rocket!"

But as soon as he said that, Delia's smile faded quickly into a worried frown. Ash found himself believing that this was a bad idea.

"Team Rocket?!" Delia asked, her voice cracking with shock. "Don't you know how dangerous they can be? What were you doing around them?!"

"They were doing something in Mount Moon," Ash said. "And we stopped them."

Delia rested a hand on her chest and took a deep breath before talking. "I'm happy you're safe, Ash," she said. "But don't ever worry me like that ever again!"

Ash lowered his eyes, murmuring, "Okay, Mom. I'm sorry I made you worry."

"It's okay," his mother said, recovering her smile. "You're alive and well, and that's all that matters. Now how've you been doing in your training?"

"Great!" Ash said, feeling happy that his mother was happy again. "And Pidgey evolved into Pidgeotto! And now we're going to the gym so I can get my second badge."

Delia leaned towards the screen and said, "That's awesome! And I hope you do your best tomorrow in your gym battle tomorrow!" Then she said, "It's getting kind of late, so make sure you sleep good tonight. Love you, Ash."

Ash smiled back. "Love you too, Mom. Good-night."

So they both hung up, and Ash went up to the upper floor to prepare for the night. They had dinner and were happy eating food like hot dogs and fries again, not just berries or nuts from the mountains. After that, they went to train a little bit before the Pokémon got tired from the training. Once that was done, they had gone to bed for the night.

_I'll get the second badge tomorrow, _Ash thought when he got into bed, absentmindedly stroking Pikachu's fur. _I can't wait!_

**...**

Morning had arrived, and Ash and his friends were ready to start the day. They had never slept easier than back at Viridian City, for when they were at the center at Pewter City, they were kept up at night by drilling noises. But today was a new day, away from anything rocky and more towards water. And Ash was excited to get his second badge. He couldn't help but shake his arms impatiently while Daisy and Brock got ready, which got him a few questioning looks from nearby trainers.

But Misty had decided not to go with them. "I'll see you later," she said before they left. "Ash, you better get prepared for that gym battle. I _won't _be holding back."

So they were heading down one of the streets. They had seen some restaurants and stopped to get breakfast to one of the less fancy ones, and Ash was thankful for that; there was no use battling on an empty stomach. Daisy and Brock got stuff Ash had never seen before, and he got peanut butter pancakes with extra butter. He didn't like syrup on his pancakes, so Pikachu was more than welcome to the sticky stuff.

"Looks like Misty wasn't really happy coming to Cerulean City," Brock remarked as they left the restaurant a half-hour later.

"Must be because of those sisters of hers," Daisy said. "I never really knew that before we went into Mount Moon. Anyway, at least we won't have to run into these burglars anytime soon."

"_What _do you know about burglars?" an angry woman's voice snapped behind them. An Officer Jenny had arrived, glaring around at them suspiciously as she added, "It's odd how you say that at the scene of the crime. You were at the Poké Mart last night, weren't you?"

"No! We're not burglars," Daisy said. "We were just talking about burglars."

Brock nodded. "She's right. We got into town last night, and we weren't anywhere near a mart."

Officer Jenny looked back at the store. "Oh. Sorry about that," she said. "There was a break-in at around midnight last night. A few medicine items and TMs were stolen, and why those were stolen is beyond us. We haven't found the robber yet, but we're still searching around. In the meantime, the citizens here are not allowed to step inside except the shopkeeper. Now go off and do something while we work on it."

"Okay," Ash said. "Let's go."

"In a moment," Brock said. He started sidling up to Officer Jenny and said with a smile, "Would you like to go out to lunch with me? I heard of this good restaurant around here-"

But Officer Jenny interrupted with an unimpressed tone, "Well, I'm not off duty till after your bedtime. And I might have to work around the clock to get these criminals. So...I'm really busy."

Brock sagged his shoulders in defeat, and Ash and Daisy couldn't help but laugh/roll their eyes at what he was doing. As if noticing them, he spluttered, "Um...we got a gym battle to catch!"

So he dragged Ash and Daisy from Officer Jenny and went down the road.

"Hey Brock?" Ash asked as the three headed down an alley. "You got any advice on how to battle Misty?"

Brock pulled on a mystical tone as he said, "Know yourself, know your adversary, and you hold the key to victory."

Daisy rolled her eyes. "You say that to many newcomers," she muttered.

Ash agreed with her, "She's right. I don't think that might help much. But thanks anyway."

"Okay," Brock said. "You know that Misty has Water-type Pokémon, and their weaknesses are Electric and Grass-type moves. Pikachu would be good, but just in case, why don't you try finding a Grass-type Pokémon?"

"That sounds good," Ash said as Pikachu jumped down from his shoulder. "Can you lend me Zubat? I heard it knows Mega Drain."

Brock shook his head. "Sorry, Ash, I can't help you with that," he said. "Another trainer's Pokémon is fine, but not a gym leader's Pokémon. Depending on the type of badge you have, it could either disobey you from lack of skill or obey you."

Ash nodded and shared a look with Pikachu, who shrugged. At least he was able to ask.

"Well, I'm gonna go check some stuff out quick," Brock said, stepping away from them. "You have fun looking for the gym. We'll all be back at the Pokémon center at sunset today."

"Got it," Daisy said. "That way, we can all get dinner."

"We'll be good," Ash promised.

Brock nodded and headed down the road opposite of them. As for Ash and Daisy, they walked down the street some more, heading over to the shops to browse around some more. At a bicycle shop, where the price of a bicycle was ridiculous (at around a million Poké), they heard the manager say where the gym was at. So they went in that direction until they arrived at the northeastern part of the city.

When they arrived, they thought they had arrived at the wrong place. It looked like the entrance to a fun-house instead of a gym. Its color was a bright blue, just like a clean sea, and there was a statue of a seal-like Pokémon on top of the domed roof. Ash and Daisy shared a look before heading over to the entrance, where they were greeted by blue-suited bodyguards. They both paid to get inside, and they saw that the inside of the gym was unlike any building they had seen so far.

A large swimming pool laid before them, a high diving board near the deep end. Ash wondered if they could swim in there; he did like swimming, but he hated swimming in the deep end. The bleachers on the sides could seat many people, and of course, today seemed to be a full house. As Ash, Daisy, and Pikachu looked on from one of the aisles, a voice was ringing out, "Presenting the stars of Cerulean City, the Cerulean City Sensational Sisters! Violet, Daisy, and Lily!"

_Daisy? _Ash looked around at his own friend. _Now I know _two _people named Daisy!_

The three of them looked up to the diving board, where three people stood on top. Waving to the crowd were three attractive young women, one blonde-haired and wearing a red dress, one blue-haired and wearing a green dress, and the last pink-haired and wearing an orange dress. They took off the dresses to reveal the same-colored two-piece swimsuits and jumped off the diving board, diving into the pool and going swimming.

"I thought this was a gym?" Ash asked curiously.

"So did I," Daisy told him. "We better go see the manager and ask where the gym is."

Ash nodded and followed her out until they reached a hallway, the entrance of there having oriental paintings of normal-colored Magikarp. On either side of them were tanks of water filled with Water-type Pokémon like Magikarp, Goldeen, and more. While they went down the hall, Ash asked, "What were those girls doing?"

"Synchronized swimming," Daisy replied. "Water-type Pokémon tend to do it when they're migrating or in danger. But it can be kinda boring."

"Hey! What're you two doing in here?"

Ash and Daisy spun around. The three young women in the pool were there, wrapping towels around their bodies and staring sternly at them.

"Well?" asked one of them. "Say something or we'll call the bodyguard."

"Can you tell us where the Cerulean City gym is?" Ash asked.

That was when the sisters' faces relaxed. "Oh, that," another sister said. "This is it. The Cerulean City gym. And you'e looking for the gym leader, right?"

Ash nodded, feeling hopeful. "Yeah."

"Well, you're looking at them," the head sister said as she and the others struck some poses.

_I thought Misty was the gym leader? _Ash thought. He had heard that Misty headed the gym, but did these sisters overthrow her? In the meantime, Daisy asked, "Well, what about the swimming?"

"It's our hobby," said one sister.

"And our fans love to watch us perform," said another.

"We pool our talents to make a big splash!" added the third, and they started giggling.

Ash couldn't help but like the little joke, even if Daisy showed no signs of laughing. But as he finished laughing, Ash saw the sisters having already walked off while he was distracted. Scolding himself for this, he led the way back to the pool, where the people had

"I wanna challenge one of you to a gym battle," Ash replied.

Suddenly, the three of them did not look happy or smug now. Instead, they looked exasperated as one of them said, "We don't feel like battling anymore."

That stunned Ash and Daisy. "Why not?" the latter asked.

"We got defeated three times in a row," sighed one sister, and even Pikachu rolled his eyes. "By kids from this nowhere place called Pallet Town."

_Nowhere place? _Ash thought indignantly. He loved the town he called his home, where he could hang out with his mother, read by himself, and hang out with Daisy as well. But then, after hearing about trainers beating the sisters, he realized that Gary was still many steps ahead of him.

"It was one trainer after the other," one sister said. "It was like going around a roller coaster of failing!"

"We had to take our Pokémon to the Pokémon center and get them healed up," the blonde-haired sister said. "Well...except one."

She took out a PokéBall and released a Pokémon from there. It was a familiar orange-and-white fish Pokémon flopping around on the side of the pool.

"Only Goldeen?" Daisy asked. She looked very suspicious from what the sisters were saying.

"Yeah," said the blue-haired sister. "If it evolved into a Seaking, we'd be better off."

"So there's no point in battling anymore," the pink-haired sister added. Then her voice grew rather snobby as she added, "Now instead of battling, we can focus on making ourselves even more beautiful than ever!"

Ash looked around at his friend Daisy, who slapped a hand to her face. "I knew it!" she groaned.

"And since we don't battle anymore," said the blonde-haired sister, "you can have this. Seel!"

Out of the water came a white seal-like Pokémon similiar to the one outside the gym, a horn jutting out of its head and a long tongue jutting from its mouth. Ash took out his Pokédex, and it read, _"Seel is the sea lion __Pokémon. Seel is a Pokémon that lives on icebergs. It swims in cold seas, using its head to break ice." _The Water-type swam over to shore and brought out a small box, which it opened.

And there it was. It was the second badge Ash had to get.

"Just like that, huh?" Ash asked. "Is it that easy?"

"Yeah. Just take it," the blonde-haired girl said with a smile. "A badge is a badge, right?"

Ash looked down at the badge. Its gleaming blue color was inviting to take, and it was just within his reach. Though he wanted to battle for his badge, he could not refuse something that he could grab so easily. So he gave in to temptation and started to reach his hand out towards it, and...

"HOLD IT RIGHT THERE!"

Just then, the doors behind them opened with a loud bang. Ash and the others looked around at the figure coming into the gym, the former taking his arm away in time. There were a Staryu and a Starmie next to her, staying by her side as she made her entrance.

"I've come back!" the familiar person yelled. "Misty the Tomboyish Mermaid is back!"

_**To be continued...**_

**...**

**Wildstar93: Here we go! I hope you all like this chapter, for I _was _going to upload two chapters in one day. But I still gotta figure out the battle. Anyway, if there's anything wrong with this chapter, let me know, and I'll fix it. I appreciate constructive criticism as long as you're polite about it.**

**So I've been writing a new book, and here's a brief summary of it: "A loyal and pampered German shepherd and an abused yet friendly pit bull get dog-napped and then get stranded in the desert. They team up with an old loner coyote to get back to their city, but they encounter many obstacles along the way. The obstacles include mountain lions, hot weather, a freak thunderstorm, and most of all, each other. Can they work together to get back to the city?"**

**So what do you think? I hope it's good.**

**Ash: Pikachu (Thundershock, Quick Attack, Double Team, Electro Ball), Pidgeotto (Wing Attack, Gust, Sand Attack, Wing Attack), Butterfree (String Shot, Confusion, Tackle, Gust)  
****At Professor Oak's: Nidoran (Peck, Double Kick, Focus Energy, Poison Sting)**

**Daisy: Eevee (Tackle, Iron Tail, Helping Hand, Tail Whip), Beedrill (Poison Sting, Agility, String Shot, Pin Missile), Magikarp (Splash)**

**Misty: Staryu (Rapid Spin, Water Gun, Harden), Starmie (Swift, Water Pulse, Recover, Rapid Spin), Goldeen (Splash, Water Gun, Horn Attack, Tail Whip)**

**Brock: Geodude (Rock Throw, Rock Polish, Tackle, Defense Curl), Onix (Rock Tomb, Rock Polish, Tackle, Bind)**

**See ya next time!**


	15. Battle For The Cerulean Badge

**Wildstar93: Hey there, everyone, and welcome back to Journey Of An Autistic Trainer! I've been getting farther little by little, and I've also planned on how the next few chapters will go. You know what they say: drive like hell, and you'll get there. I'm kidding on the first part, and I got that from a joke book I had when I was a kid, but you know what I mean.**

**So...looks like Ash might be getting his second badge this chapter. Again, the actual episode had Team Rocket interrupting Ash's battle with Misty, and he got a badge for saving the gym. Nice, but not traditional. So this time, Ash is gonna get his badge the right way. No Team Rocket, no saving the gym, no free badges, nothing to hinder both sides.**

**In other words, you can breathe easily, folks! No pity badges this time!**

**Uploading Date: October 1, 2015**

**Enjoy!**

**...**

_**Battle For The Cerulean Badge**_

There Misty was, as proud and hot-headed as ever, recalling Staryu and Starmie into their PokéBalls. Ash was surprised to see her switch from sullen to full-out angry, just as he had seen before on his journey so far. Now she looked ready to murder, or maybe snap in a non-violent way, and Ash and Daisy got out of the way as Misty approached them. Thanks to experience with her hotheadedness, they decided to stay on the sidelines for a bit.

"Daisy, if you don't want to battle him, I will!" Misty declared, stepping right up to the sisters.

"Me?" Ash's Daisy asked.

Misty rolled her eyes. "No, not you. My _sister_ Daisy. Anyway, as the fourth Sensational Sister, I'll battle any challenger!"

But as soon as Misty finished, the three older girls began laughing at her. They finished, and one of the sisters said smugly, "Yeah, right. There are only _three _Sensational Sisters. And _one _runt."

She was smirking at Misty as she said this, and Misty hissed under her breath.

"So, little sis," Misty's Daisy, the blonde-haired sister, said with a hint of a sneer. "What a surprise to see you back so soon."

"Yeah," the blue-haired sister added. "I remember hearing a big-mouthed girl saying that she'll come back as the best Water-type trainer ever. Wasn't that you?"

Misty's defiant look turned to uncertainty. "Yeah, Violet...I did say something like that when I left," she mumbled.

The pink-haired sister scoffed with disdain. "You left the city pretending you were a big-shot Pokémon because you couldn't compare to _us_. Because you can see that we're more popular and beautiful than you."

Misty snapped back, "That's wasn't the reason, Lily, and you should know that!"

"Well then, I guess you came back because you're a terrible Pokémon trainer," Lily scoffed.

Now Misty was looking more ashamed. Ash saw that she looked like he did when she yelled at him at the Viridian Forest. He had not done anything to defend himself back then, but he could defend someone else now.

"Just leave her alone!" Ash found himself shouting at them. "No wonder Misty's got a short temper! You always pick on her, and you left her to almost get eaten by Gyarados! What kind of sisters are you?"

A silence fell over the gym. The sisters gaped at Ash in shock, and Ash himself felt like jumping into the pool and disappearing from everyone's views. Now the sisters' looks of shock were replaced by rage.

"You little brat! I'll teach you some manners!" Violet growled, raising her hand to strike him, and Ash winced as he prepared himself for getting attacked. Right away, however, Pikachu pushed Ash out of the way so that the hand only connected with air.

"Touch him like that, and you'll swim with only one arm!" Ash's Daisy snapped at Violet.

They almost looked ready to fight, and Ash wasn't sure what to do. He had heard from Gary that girls could get violent if they fought. But before anyone could do anything, Pikachu had jumped out between them, apparently scolding them in his own language for fighting. Finally, Misty ended up heading over to the pool to start the battle.

"So Ash, are you ready to fight?" she called from one side of the pool. "Remember, I won't go easy on you!"

Ash looked around at Daisy, who was nodding with a determined expression. Two of Misty's sisters were muttering to each other, a look of both contempt and surprise on their faces. One of them was heading over to a podium near the side of the pool, where she was likely to be the referee.

"I'm ready!" Ash called.

Misty nodded with a firm nod and threw out a PokéBall, calling, "Misty calls Starmie!" And out came Starmie, jumping into the water and floating like a buoy. A purple star-shaped buoy with a red gem in the middle. Out of habit, Ash decided to check Starmie out on the Pokédex since he hadn't scanned it yet. It then said, _"Starmie is the Mysterious __Pokémon. At the center of its body is a red core, which sends mysterious radio signals into the night sky." _Suddenly, it beeped again, and it showed Staryu this time, saying, "_Staryu is the Star Shape __Pokémon, and it evolves into Starmie. If its body is torn, it can grow back if the red core remains. The core flashes at midnight."_

"This will be a two-on-two Pokémon-" Lily started, only to be interrupted by Misty.

"Make it a one-on-one!" the youngest sister demanded. "Just the two of us!"

Lily merely shrugged and said, "Fine, whatever. This will be a one-on-one Pokémon battle between gym leader Misty, who's _still _a runt," she said with a look of disdain at Misty, "and the challenger, Ash Ketchum from Pallet Town. Since the challenger's Pokémon is land-based, it will have to use these floating platforms to get around in the fight."

"Pikachu, you ready to fight?" Ash asked his starter Pokémon.

Pikachu looked down at the water and shrugged, backing up to the center of the floating platform. It looked like he was scared of falling into the water.

"Aw, thanks, Pikachu!" Misty called to him in a slightly mocking way. "You're a real Pika-pal!"

That was the wrong thing to say. Pikachu's uncertainty faded to rage as he jumped onto one of the floating platforms, hissing at Misty.

"I guess Pikachu isn't really your Pika-pal after all," Ash remarked.

Hearing this, Misty frowned and commanded, "Starmie, Power Gem!"

Starmie's gem started glowing before floating gems appeared before it. It fired them at Pikachu, who was prepared to either fight, dodge, or get hit by the attack.

"Pikachu, Iron Tail to get them away!" Ash called.

Pikachu's tail glowed silver, and then he slammed his tail around, knocking the gems away.

"Now Thundershock!" Ash commanded.

Right away, Pikachu's cheeks crackled, and he shot out electricity at the starfish-like Pokémon.

"Starmie, dive underwater!" Misty called.

Starmie ducked just before the electric attack could land a hit. Pikachu looked confused before jumping to the edge of the float, looking for Starmie. But that was going to be a bad idea.

With a smirk, Misty then called, "Now Swift!"

Little golden stars suddenly burst out of the water and hit Pikachu, forcing him back with a "Pika!" Pikachu retaliated by firing a Thundershock at Starmie, launching it back into the water in return. Then Starmie jumped out of the water and stood on one of the platforms, standing still and shivering. When it was done, it looked exactly as it did when the battle started.

Ash was stumped. What was up with Starmie? Now they had to try injuring it all over again.

"That's Recover, when Starmie gets its energy back!" Misty crowed. "Now Starmie, dive back underwater!"

"Pikachu, jump onto Starmie this time!" Ash suddenly found himself calling.

As Starmie was getting back into the water, Pikachu suddenly jumped on top of its highest appendage, holding on tight. Starmie started swimming around swiftly in the water, trying to dislodge Pikachu off of it.

"Ash, are you crazy?!" Misty called indignantly, causing Ash to cringe a bit from her tone. "What if Pikachu doesn't last long underwater?!"

"I'm trying something!" Ash replied, though he was still overwhelmed by Starmie's power. "Pikachu, Thundershock!"

So Pikachu fired a jolt of electricity onto Starmie, whose gem glowed brightly from the damage it was taking. However, Starmie then burst out of the water, spinning around so that the mouse Pokémon had no choice but to let go, sailing over the water and hitting one of the platforms. With a cry of "Water Pulse!", Starmie then fired a powerful ring of water at him, hitting him and forcing him back into the pool.

"Pikachu takes a big hit from Water Pulse!" Lily called. "Can it get back to its feet in time?"

Ash was feeling even more desperate. How was Pikachu going to beat Starmie when the latter was in its element? Misty, however, was now looking cocky as she called, "Come on, Ash! We've gotten this far now! Don't tell me you're being a bad trainer by failing!"

The gym went silent following this. Ash's Daisy had a look of shock on her face before disappointment made her narrow her eyes. Misty's sisters muttered to each other and looked around at their sister while they were on the bleachers. Even Seel covered its own face with its flippers as a way of mortification.

That was nothing compared to Ash. He wasn't a failure. He didn't want to be a failure. Misty's insult had cut him deep, and it was like being in the Viridian Forest all over again. But the pain Ash was feeling was also mixed with rage. He was starting to feel anger now, and he was tired of people treating him as weird or an uneducated freak.

"Misty..." Ash now glared up at her with a hurt expression and a wounded mind. "I'll show you. I'll show you that I'm not weak! And I won't fail! Pikachu, are you ready?!"

"PIKA! CHUUU!" Pikachu snarled, climbing onto the platform and facing Misty. He was in a primal pose, hissing like an angry cat as electricity crackled from his red cheeks.

"Electro Ball, Pikachu!" Ash called.

Pikachu jumped into the air, forming a ball of electricity at the end of his tail. Then he cried, "Pika...chu PI!" and hurled it at Starmie, stopping it in its tracks. Starmie looked stunned from the sudden attack before it shook itself and jumped back into the water.

"Starmie, Recover!" Misty called frantically. She must have been surprised that Ash did not cry like last time.

But as Starmie began to recover, Ash called, "Electro Ball to stop it!"

So Pikachu formed another electric ball and threw it at Starmie, hitting it in the gem. Starmie was blown back, shaking itself from the interrupting attack. It got back up and fired another blast of water at Pikachu, catching him in the face once again. This time, however, Pikachu suddenly made copies of itself so that Starmie got stumped. It was Double Team, which Ash learned that increased Pikachu's evasiveness.

"Use Water Pulse on each of them!" Misty commanded.

Starmie started firing rings of water towards each of the copies, making them dissipate with each blast. Finally, only the real Pikachu was left, who went in for the attack on an unsuspecting Starmie with a Quick Attack.

"Dive underwater again!" Misty called.

But as Starmie started to go under Ash yelled, "Jump onto it again, Pikachu!"

Pikachu quickly jumped onto Starmie and latched onto one of its appendages again. Once again, Starmie tried shaking him off, but Pikachu looked even more determined and was holding on tight.

"Pikachu, another Thundershock!" Ash called.

With a furious cry, Pikachu powered up its cheeks and fired a powerful bolt of electricity. It looked even more powerful than Thundershock, making Starmie's red gem glow brightly as it was being shocked. Did Pikachu learn a new move while this was going on?

Finally, Pikachu jumped off of Starmie, paddling over to the floating platform. Starmie was floating there, apparently trying to recover, but then it fell back into the water, not moving. Its red gem had gotten dull, indicating that it had fallen unconscious.

"Starmie's knocked out," Lily called. "Pikachu wins! That means that the winner is Ash Ketchum from Pallet Town!"

Ash looked down at Pikachu, who was limping over towards his trainer. He bent down to pick him up, saying, "You did great out there, Pikachu. I'm really proud of you."

"Pika..." Pikachu said with a tired sigh.

"Come on over here so I can give you that badge," Misty said from her side of the battlefield. As Ash met her on the other side of the pool, she said, "That, and I wanted to apologize for insulting you during our battle. I thought it would boost you up."

"You're just not the friendly type, are you?" Ash's Daisy muttered angrily. For once, she did not look happy about Ash's winning in the gym battle.

Misty looked around at her, looking hurt, and Daisy stormed away. Finally, she held out the badge and a TM and muttered to Ash, "Just take it. There's some money on the back too." She then dropped it to the ground and ran off towards the exit of the gym as fast as she could.

Ash hesitantly picked it up before showing it to the injured yet happy Pikachu. "We did it," he said, holding it up. "We got the Cascade Badge!"

"Pika, Pika!" Pikachu cheered along with him. Ash believed Pikachu had finally gotten his vengeance complete.

"Where's Daisy?" Ash asked the Sensational Sisters. As one of the sisters looked around in confusion, he added, "I mean my Daisy. My _friend _Daisy."

"She had to go outside," Lily said. "And Misty went after her. You know, for a runt, Misty's the best battler out of all of us."

...

Daisy had stormed out of the gym, upset over Misty losing her temper at Ash. The treaty between them was getting rocky, and it had been rocky ever since they were on the road to Cerulean City. Of course Misty had a right to be upset, but Daisy wished she wouldn't keep treating Ash as if he was a freak with no feelings.

She had stopped right outside the side of the gym, looking out to the route that led to more mountains. How long would it take Misty to start really liking Ash? Would it have killed her to not roll her eyes anytime Ash did something different? And taunting him during a gym match...she was sure gym leaders were not supposed to do that. A playful taunt would be good, but an insult was really uncalled for.

Suddenly, Eevee had come out of her PokéBall with a little "Eevee!" She looked up at Daisy and wagged her bushy tail a bit, and Daisy almost smiled. Her starter Pokémon always knew what to do in situations like this. She bent down and picked Eevee up, and the Evolution Pokémon responded by giving her cheek a little lick.

"Hey Daisy." Misty had come up behind her to talk with her, but Daisy did not really want to talk to her. In an attempt to lighten the mood, she joked, "At least I'm talking to Ash's Daisy."

Daisy did not respond. She merely held Eevee closer to her and looked around towards the mountains.

"Look, I know I said I'd tone the insults down," Misty said with a sigh. "But...I just wanted to show my sisters that I could be as good as them. Now thanks to Ash, they'll still hate me."

Daisy glared at her this time. "Ash defended you when your sisters taunted you," she spat. "And you're going to repay him by blaming him for your sisters hating you?"

Misty glared back at her. "I wasn't thinking straight, okay?!" she snapped. "And what else would you do, if the sisters who torment you all your life, give you hand-me-downs, and flaunt their beauty in front of you were watching? I had to do something! Surely, you'd know how it feels to be or _see_ someone being abused?!"

"I KNOW!" Daisy roared, startling Eevee into jumping out of her arms. They stared at each other for a few moments, and Daisy finally sighed and said calmly, "I know. But still, can you tone it down with the anger? I feel like we won't get this progress going if you keep hating Ash along the way."

"You said it twice already," Misty said with a roll of her eyes. "But sure. I'll try."

Daisy stared back at her. "Don't just try, Misty. Just _do_."

Misty opened her mouth to either agree or disagree with that, but she never got the chance to finish. Instead, the smashing sound of breaking glass was heard not too far away, and a scream echoed over to them.

"What was that?" Daisy asked, letting Eevee jump back into her arms.

"I have no idea," Misty said. "No use standing here and figuring it out. Let's go check it out."

_**To be continued...**_

**...**

**Wildstar93: There we go, folks! I hope you all like this chapter, especially since Ash got his gym badge the right way this time. As I said, no Team Rocket, no pity badges, no nothing. Anyway, if there's anything wrong with this chapter, please let me know, and I'll fix it. I appreciate constructive criticism as long as you're polite about it.**

**In this chapter, even though Misty said earlier she'll try to be nicer, she still won't fully accept Ash yet. She's already seen that he's a determined fighter, but she'll still be irritated by his actual personality. But she'll finally accept him at one point in this story; I won't say yet, but when that part will be here, it'll be here. And hey, at least I didn't have Daisy spitting on Misty this time.**

**Ash: Pikachu (Thundershock, Quick Attack, Double Team, Electro Ball), Pidgeotto (Wing Attack, Gust, Sand Attack, Wing Attack), Butterfree (String Shot, Confusion, Tackle, Gust)  
****At Professor Oak's: Nidoran (Peck, Double Kick, Focus Energy, Poison Sting)**

**Daisy: Eevee (Tackle, Iron Tail, Helping Hand, Tail Whip), Beedrill (Poison Sting, Agility, String Shot, Pin Missile), Magikarp (Splash)**

**Misty: Staryu (Rapid Spin, Water Gun, Harden), Starmie (Swift, Water Pulse, Recover, Rapid Spin), Goldeen (Splash, Water Gun, Horn Attack, Tail Whip)**

**Brock: Geodude (Rock Throw, Rock Polish, Tackle, Defense Curl), Onix (Rock Tomb, Rock Polish, Tackle, Bind)**

**See ya next time!**


	16. The Thief, The Rival, And The New Friend

**Wildstar93: Hey there, everyone, and welcome back to Journey Of An Autistic Trainer! I know I would make a two-part episode with the Cerulean City gym battle, but I had already gone and uploaded the first part of the Cerulean City gym. That, and I already uploaded the gym battle already. So...there's only one thing to do now: just upload this chapter.**

**So anyway, I had a poll asking you if you wanted to see Ash with one starter Pokémon or all three of them. I won't tell you the poll yet, but a look at this chapter will give you a clue. And the last chapter I had put up wasn't really my most popular chapter because though Ash and Misty had been bullied in the past, they're taking it out on each other. So Canada Cowboy is helping me solve this problem as the story goes on. Speaking of him, I thank him for the future awesome idea he has.**

**And you ever seen horde battles in X, Y, Omega Ruby, and Alpha Sapphire? The same will happen when they battle Team Rocket. And the ****Pokémon will mostly use their attacks without their trainer telling them to; basically like a battle between warriors and soldiers in ancient or modern battles.**

**Uploading Date: October 9, 2015**

**Enjoy!**

**...**

_**The Thief, The Rival, And The New Friend**_

Ash had come back from his gym battle, partly happy that he had won his second badge. That was two down, and he had six more to go along the road, so he was on his way of becoming a good Pokémon trainer. But there was a reason why he wasn't fully happy about his victory.

What was it about him that made Misty dislike him so much? Was it because of his autism? Ash knew Misty had said she would try to be nicer to him, but it seemed that it was not an easy thing to do. Still, would it have killed her to not be snappy for one day?

"Don't let what Misty said bother you," Brock said, sitting next to him at lunch. The Pewter City gym leader had come back from whatever he was doing, and he had heard about what happened during the gym battle. "She was most likely not feeling like herself thanks to her sisters."

"Yeah..." Ash mumbled, setting a slice of the personal-pan pizza down. "But besides that, it's like when Misty yelled at me at Viridian Woods for putting Butterfree in danger."

Brock sighed. "Same thing happened with my sister. Someone yelled at her just for shaking her head a lot, and one of my brothers, Forrest, got onto him for that. People like him and Misty have a hard time accepting those who are different from others. But hey," he said with a grin, "it'll take them time to fully accept those people. And same with you and Misty; just give her time."

Ash nodded a bit as he took a bite out of the personal pizza, watching Pikachu lick at ketchup packets. Brock was right. If he was going to get along with Misty, he would have to try and wait for her to be patient.

Just then, the cafeteria door opened, and Misty and Daisy came in. Eevee was running alongside them, looking up at them with worried eyes. Ash was at first worried that Misty would yell at him again, but there was no anger on her face this time.

"What's up?" Brock greeted them.

"We just heard something near the Nugget Bridge," Misty told him. Ash gave her a confused look, and Misty rolled her eyes as she said, "It's the bridge north of the city where trainers can battle trainers and get a prize at the end. If you went there first instead of the gym, the gym battle would be easier."

Ash looked down at his pizza. "Maybe I should've gone there first," he mumbled.

"What's done is done," Brock told him. To the girls, he asked, "So can you take us there?"

"Why'd you think we came all the way over here?" Misty retorted. "Now let's go!"

So they cleaned up their table and headed outside into the city. Ash saw Misty and Daisy looking around as if looking for clues. He was thinking that they must have forgotten where the scream came from when Pikachu jumped down from his shoulder. He started sniffing the street, which had tire skids on it. It looked like there was a vehicle that had passed by earlier, so they followed those tracks down the street until they were near the end of the city.

They had just rounded a corner near the river when they heard another scream. It was coming from one of the houses near the river. So they headed in that direction, where they finally came to that house, a small house with a broken window. People were already crowding around, and Officer Jenny was warning them back, making entry into.

A young woman was there, dressed in pink and red overalls. She was comforting some young Pokémon.

"What happened here?" Brock asked as they approached her. Normally, he would try to ask her out or something, but this was not the time.

"It's those Rocket fiends!" the young woman cried out, huddling a crying Caterpie. "They stole some Pokémon, and they're getting away!"

"Did they go into this hole?" Ash asked. "We can catch them on time!"

The woman shrugged. "I believe so," she said. "How do you think they got in there?"

Footsteps sounded from the hole, and a man stepped out of the hole. He had a black uniform on, with a red letter R on the chest. In one arm, he held a walkie-talkie, and in the other was a cage that held two Pidgey, a couple of Rattata, and even a Geodude.

"Hey!" Ash called. "Let those Pokémon go!"

"Darn it, it's those kids from Mount Moon!" one of the Rockets growled. "Let's cheese it!"

They started climbing through the hole in the wall. With a cry of "Pika!", Pikachu jumped off of Ash's shoulder and ran into the hole into the wall.

"Pikachu!" Ash called. But just as he called for him, Eevee suddenly appeared out of Daisy's bag and ran after Pikachu, calling after him.

The humans headed out after their Pokémon into the backyard. There, a truck had crashed through the gate, its rear facing the house to unload the Rocket grunts and the cages. Among those Rockets were Jessie and James and their talking Meowth. They were taunting the loaded-up Pokémon, which were set down to be taken away.

"Those kids followed us through!" the head Rocket growled to his comrades. "We need to get rid of 'em!"

"We'll leave when you let those Pokémon go!" Misty snapped back.

"What makes you think we'll do that, twoip?" Meowth snickered.

Just as they did the first two times, Jessie and James began their motto. The grunts groaned in anger at this.

"Prepare for trouble!"

"And make it double!"

"To protect the world from-"

"Okay, stop that right now!" one of the grunts snarled at Jessie and James, looking aggravated. "That motto's getting repetitive, and it's not funny! At all!"

Jessie and James blinked at him in disbelief before sulking. "It sounds good to _us_," Jessie muttered.

"Yeah, whatever," growled the grunt. "Now get the lead outta your ears and get those kids!"

The grunts let out battle cries before sending out their Pokémon. A horde of Rattata and Zubat came out of the PokéBalls, jumping into battle again. In response, Ash and his friends sent out their Pokémon to battle against Team Rocket's Pokémon. He was thankful that they were outside, for since Onix was a massive Pokémon, it would not fit in the house.

Now both sides launched into their battle. Pikachu and Eevee went straight up against Meowth, and as Koffing and Ekans came forward, Starmie and Onix confronted them. As for the hordes of Rattata and Zubat, Pidgeotto, Butterfree, Beedrill, Magikarp, Goldeen, and Brock's own Zubat met them head-on.

It was pandemonium in the clearing. Zubat were darting back and forth like blue bullets, and Pidgeotto, Butterfree, Beedrill, and Brock's Zubat countered their aerial strikes. Onix and Geodude were throwing rocks at the attackers, Onix sending several rocks at them with its tail. Near the creek at the back fence, Staryu and Starmie were taking turns firing Water Pulse at. Even Magikarp was doing well, being in her element and darting under the surface and jumping at her foes as a surprise. Just as she was about to slap a winding Zubat in the face with her tail, Beedrill moved in front of her and beat up the Zubat by himself, slashing at it with his stingers.

"Karp!" Magikarp griped to Beedrill. The bee Pokémon merely gave a buzzing chuckle before going back into the battle.

Back in the battle, Pikachu and Meowth were squaring off. Eevee had left this battle when a Rattata had tried to sucker-punch Pikachu, matching its Hyper Fang with her Iron Tail. Pidgeotto and Butterfree had switched to fighting Ekans and Koffing, but despite their best effort, they were getting tired. That left Koffing and Ekans to knock them back with Tackle and Poison Sting.

Pikachu and Meowth were fighting not far away from Ash. Pikachu had gotten several bloody scratches from Meowth, and Meowth looked like he had been fried a bit by Pikachu's electric attacks. Pikachu fired an Electro Ball at Meowth, but Meowth countered by forming a dark shadowy ball in between his forepaws and launched it at Pikachu. The Electro Ball did hit Meowth on the arm, but the Shadow Ball attack hit the electric rodent in the face, making him yelp and fall to the ground.

"Well, lookie here, rodent!" Meowth taunted, standing over him. "You're all getting tired! Give up?"

"Pika! Pikachu! Pi!" Pikachu shouted, shaking his head.

Meowth clicked his tongue in a 'tsk tsk' way and said, "Wrong answer. Get ready for a hiney-whooping!"

He slid his claws out again and swiped them against Pikachu's cheek. Pikachu lashed out with an Iron Tail and caught Meowth on the chest, but he retaliated by kicking the tail away and repeating the clawing attack. Ash's heart beat faster than usual as he saw his therapy Pokémon start to falter from getting scratched a lot, and he was worried Pikachu was going down the Butterfree and Pidgeotto route, getting so weak that he could evolve or something.

"Wartortle, Water Pulse!"

A blast of water came between Pikachu and Meowth, splitting them apart from their spat. Charging into battle was a medium-sized purplish-blue turtle Pokémon with fluffy ears and an even fluffier tail. Ash took out his Pokédex and scanned the new Pokémon, the Pokédex saying, _"Wartortle is the turtle __Pokémon. It is said to live for ten thousand years. Its furry tail is popular as a symbol of longevity."_

Then Ash looked around and noticed one person he had been dreading to see again: Gary Oak. Daisy's younger brother was effectively steering Wartortle and his other Pokémon (a Pidgeotto and a Rattata) into battle. In spite of his own misgivings toward his rival, Ash steered his Pokémon back into battle along with Daisy's team. Back with Wartortle, it was punching Meowth out of the way, and Pikachu got back up and fired a Thundershock at the Scratch Cat Pokémon.

In the meantime, Gary's Pidgeotto began helping Ash's Pidgeotto and Butterfree against the Zubat swarm. He appeared to be flirting with her by the way he wagged his tail feathers, and Ash's Pidgeotto merely rolled her eyes. On the ground, Wartortle and Rattata joined the rest in driving back Ekans, Koffing, and the Rattata swarm.

"Get BACK!" a Rocket grunt snarled as Jessie and James eyed Pikachu and Magikarp greedily. "These Pokémon aren't worth it anyway!"

"Rrrr...those twerps got lucky this time!" Jessie growled as Meowth limped over.

"They're _always _lucky!" James griped. But they did not complain anymore as they recalled their Pokémon.

Finally, the Team Rocket grunts began falling back. They ran over to their truck, where the driver started pulling away from the backyard and into the woods beyond. Ash watched them go before looking back at Gary; he seemed to be talking to his Pokémon, probably talking to them like they were friends.

"Well, well, well," Gary sneered, turning to Ash as he recalled his Pidgeotto and Rattata. "If it isn't little Ashy Boy. I thought you'd have given up and gone back home."

Ash forced himself to try and stay calm as his former friend leered at him. It had been the first time they encountered each other since the day they started their journeys at Pallet Town. He was sure Gary would try and make him feel small and worthless, but he could not back down anymore. He had promised himself before he came to Cerulean City that he would not be scared of him anymore, and he was going to be brave.

"H-Hey Gary," Ash stammered, trying to keep his voice steady. He then clenched his fists to keep himself together and said, "I-I'm not scared of you, Gary. I've been trying to catch up with you, and I got two badges."

"You? Not scared of me?" Gary laughed rather nastily. "I'm actually surprised you made it this far, but you needn't have bothered. I already got three, so I'm ahead as usual. I'm gonna be the world's greatest Pokémon master, and I'll squish a weak autistic brat like you. Autistic kids like you aren't deserving of becoming top Pokémon trainers!"

"Gary, you are _not _playing that card again!" Daisy snarled, stepping in between Ash and Gary as Pikachu gave a growl. "Ash is doing really well in spite of having autism, and you have no right to make him feel ashamed of himself! If you don't stop it, I'll call Grandpa, and he can make _you _come back home!"

Ash was thankful that Daisy was there to protect him. But he felt like another problem was starting: Daisy seemed a little too overprotective over him. He always appreciated her help, but for once, he wanted to stand up for himself.

Gary, however, laughed. "Sure, Daisy. And I'm the champion of the Johto League!" he said sarcastically, stepping around Daisy. "But Gramps can't do anything about it when I have three badges already! And I think I've had enough of Ash trying to catch up with me." His grin grew more sinister as he commanded, "Wartortle, bite him!"

Daisy gasped in shock at what her brother was doing, and Ash was feeling scared. Did Gary hate him so much he was willing to hurt him too? Already, Wartortle was charging forward, opening its mouth to prepare to bite him.

"Eevee!" Daisy called. "Quick Attack on Wartortle!"

Eevee gave a cry and jumped at Wartortle, tackling it in the chest. Wartortle, however, chuckled from the blow and slugged Eevee out of the way. Once Eevee was out of the way, Wartortle made its way towards Ash again only for Beedrill and Magikarp to stand in the way. Magikarp tried landing the first blow, but Beedrill got in the way again and stabbed towards Wartortle. This only resulted in Wartortle punching Beedrill to the side and kicking Magikarp down before going at Ash again.

"Pikachu, Iron Tail!" Ash called quickly.

"PIKA!" Pikachu snarled, running forward with a glowing silver tail. He slammed it towards Wartortle, but Wartortle only shoved it away and fired a powerful pulse of water at Pikachu, who was shoved back by the attack.

Suddenly, a long vine shot out and struck Wartortle in the chest, forcing it to step away. Out between Daisy's legs came a squat blue Pokémon standing on four legs, a big green bulb on its back. Its red eyes were glaring at Gary in fury, its teeth bared in rage. Up against the wall, Ash took out his Pokédex out and scanned the new arrival.

_"Bulbasaur is the Seed __Pokémon," _the PokéDex said. _"For some time after its birth, it grows by gaining nourishment from the seed on its back."_

_That's one of the starter __Pokémon! _Ash thought in awe. He remembered being too late to get a starter, but Professor Oak had given him a special starter instead. What would have happened if he had gotten Bulbasaur or one of the others instead of Pikachu?

"A Bulbasaur?" Gary asked in surprise. "That's great! Why don't you ditch Ketchum here and join me?"

Bulbasaur merely growled at him. It stood beside Ash, Pikachu, Pidgeotto, and Butterfree beside them.

"Are you sure you wanna fight with me?" Ash asked with rising confidence.

"Bulba, Bulbasaur," Bulbasaur said with a firm nod.

"Pika!" Pikachu chirped, standing beside Bulbasaur.

Daisy's Magikarp flopped over, a determined look on its face. Eevee and Beedrill did the same thing, and Daisy herself said, "I'm with you, Ash."

"I'll help too," Misty spoke up as she came back from helping the young woman. As Ash looked at her in surprise, she said, "Ash, I'm sorry about acting the way I did in our gym battle. I wanted to show my sisters I was as good as them, but I got carried away."

Ash nodded, and he started to feel bad for losing his temper in the battle. He wanted to tell her he wished he could believe her, but those were not the right words. So he said, "I'm sorry too. I shouldn't have been mad when you had sisters bullying you."

"You know what?" Gary's voice made them look back at him. "I don't wanna listen to you two apologize all day. I already got my third badge, so I'm outta here. Smell ya later, Ashy boy!" he called in a sneering way as he walked off.

With Gary gone, Ash sighed in relief. Bulbasaur snorted as if to say "That was _too _easy." Ash and Daisy began recalling their Pokémon to their PokéBalls, and Pikachu got back onto Ash's shoulder. He thought Daisy would heal the Pokémon, but she didn't this time. Perhaps it was due to having a Pokémon center not too far away.

"Thank you so much!" a female voice said behind them as the crowd began to disperse. It was the same young woman who had asked for help. "If it weren't for you, these Pokémon would have been taken away and mistreated badly."

Ash looked down at his feet. "It's no problem," he said.

The young woman took one look at Bulbasaur and said, "My name's Melanie, and I help wild Pokémon recover until they're ready to be returned to the wild. This Bulbasaur here is no exception; I don't know where he came from, but he must have been abused, for he tried tackling any trainer that came near these Pokémon. I think he wants to go with you."

"Really?" Ash looked down at Bulbasaur. The Seed Pokémon was gazing up at him with a determined look and a small nod. "Okay then," Ash finally said, pulling out a PokéBall. "I'm glad you can come with us."

"Wait." Melanie stepped between Ash and Bulbasaur, the latter giving a loud cry which probably meant "Wait!". She bent down so that Bulbasaur could whisper into her ear before standing back up. "Bulbasaur won't go with you that easily. To do that, you'll have to battle him."

"Battle it?" Ash looked down at Bulbasaur, who was pawing the ground in determination.

Melanie nodded. "Yes. When Bulbasaur had been abandoned by his trainer, he has been searching for a strong-willed trainer to join. After seeing you stand up to your rival, he seems to think of you as strong."

Ash felt his face turn a little hot as he said, "But...I'm not strong."

"You seem like it," Melanie said with a smile. "Now go on. Bulbasaur's waiting for you."

With his confidence returning, Ash looked around at Daisy and Misty. The former was nodding with a smile, and the latter paused and looked down at her feet. Finally, Misty looked back up and nodded too. He could do it, as long as he had confidence and his friends were sure of him.

"All right then," Ash said. He threw out a PokéBall, calling, "Butterfree, I choose you!"

Butterfree came out of the PokéBall, facing Bulbasaur while he kept himself aloft with his wings. Despite being at a disadvantage, Bulbasaur had a grin on his face as he pawed the ground. Since Butterfree was a Bug/Flying-type, Bulbasaur's Grass-type moves would not have that much effect on her.

"Butterfree, Confusion!"

With a cry of "Freee!", Butterfree's eyes glowed blue as it lifted Bulbasaur up into the air and slammed it down. But as he was about to repeat the trick, Bulbasaur suddenly shot out some vines and wrapped them around Butterfree. He was unable to repeat the attack so easily, so the Grass-type Pokémon used the opportunity to slam him to the ground.

"String Shot!" Ash called.

Butterfree shot out a string of silk and tied up Bulbasaur's vines. With a growl, Bulbasaur stepped back, sending out razor-sharp leaves to cut the silk. It was not an easy task, for the silk was sticky, but he managed to get it off in time. He prepared a Confusion to launch at Bulbasaur, but Bulbasaur cut him off by spraying a purple cloud of pollen from his bulb at him. The Butterfly Pokémon was caught by it and coughed, but he managed to blow some of it back at its user. Bulbasaur just stood there with a cocky grin, taking it in.

"Why isn't Bulbasaur poisoned?" Ash wondered out loud. He was thankful Butterfree was doing well despite being poisoned. But that brought a bad thing to his mind: the last time Butterfree was poisoned, he was scolded by Misty.

"Bulbasaur's part Poison-type," Misty spoke up. "Poison-types can't get poisoned. And Grass-types aren't affected by powder moves either."

Ash understood now. He would have to get Butterfree to dodge Poison Powder next time. And speak of the devil, Bulbasaur was shaking his bulb so that the purple powder came from the opening again. By command, Butterfree started flying this way and that, trying his hardest to dodge and avoid getting even more poisoned. He was able to get in close and fire a Confusion right at Bulbasaur, and the Seed Pokémon was blown back by the attack, hitting the fence and sliding down to the ground.

Finally, Bulbasaur began to keel over as he tried to stand up. Seizing the chance, Ash threw a PokéBall at him, yelling "PokéBall, go!" and watching it tap the target on the head. Bulbasaur was sucked inside and, once he was inside, began to struggle, shaking the ball from side-to-side. There was one shake, then two, then three...

...and it was all in vain. The Ball burst open, and Bulbasaur came back out, growling.

"What?" Ash gasped aloud. Bulbasaur was perhaps still a little too strong to be caught right away. "Butterfree, Confusion again!"

Butterfree's eyes glowed again as he lifted Bulbasaur into the air again. With a growl, Bulbasaur broke free and charged at him, taking him out of the air. Butterfree landed on the ground with a cry of pain, fluttering his wings wildly. Seeing this, Bulbasaur grinned and charged at Butterfree, intending to use Tackle again, but Butterfree was getting ready this time. He lifted off just as his oppenent charged over and fired String Shot at his feet, sticking them to the ground. Once Bulbasaur was trapped, Butterfree fired a powerful gust of wind at Bulbasaur, ripping the silk off and sending him to the fence again.

Once again, Bulbasaur keeled over. Ash tossed another PokéBall at him, and Bulbasaur was once again sucked inside. The Ball fell to the ground, where it began to shake wildly. As it happened, Ash waited with bated breath, preparing himself to command Butterfree if Bulbasaur burst out again.

But there was no need. After one last roll, the Ball clicked, indicating that Bulbasaur had given in this time. Excitement coursing through him like a stream, Ash went over to pick it up, holding it high in the air.

"Yes!" he cheered. "We got a Bulbasaur!"

"Pika!" "Free!" Pikachu and Butterfree cheered with him.

"Feeling a lot better?" Daisy asked as she and Misty walked up to congratulate him.

Ash nodded. "Yeah. I'm not going to give up now. Where are we going next?"

"Vermilion City," Misty explained. "But why not go to the Nugget Bridge? You can get a lot of training near there."

"That's a great idea," Ash told her, and Misty smiled back, if only a half-smile. It seemed that their rocky relationship was going to smooth out from there.

So they said their farewell to Melanie, and they (and Brock) went to the Pokémon center to get prepared for their trip. Once their Pokémon were healed, they would leave Cerulean City and go up the Nugget Bridge to explore beyond there. Then they would come back to Cerulean and head south to Vermilion City, where Ash would get his third badge.

_**To be continued...**_

**...**

**Wildstar93: Well, there we go, folks. I hope you all like this chapter because it's my longest chapter yet! And I hope it's a big fix from the past chapter; I think the past one was a Dethroning Moment Of Suck for me. Anyway, if there's anything wrong with this chapter, please let me know. I appreciate constructive criticism as long as you're polite about it.**

**I think I might take a short break from FanFiction. Just for a little while. While I'm away, I'll be thinking of more chapter ideas for future chapters. Canada Cowboy has helped me out with some future chapter ideas, so be prepared when that comes around.**

**Ash: Pikachu (Thundershock, Quick Attack, Double Team, Electro Ball), Pidgeotto (Wing Attack, Gust, Sand Attack, Wing Attack), Butterfree (String Shot, Confusion, Tackle, Gust), Bulbasaur (Tackle, Vine Whip, Poison Powder, Leech Seed)  
****At Professor Oak's: Nidoran (Peck, Double Kick, Focus Energy, Poison Sting)**

**Daisy: Eevee (Tackle, Iron Tail, Helping Hand, Tail Whip), Beedrill (Poison Sting, Agility, String Shot, Pin Missile), Magikarp (Splash)**

**Misty: Staryu (Rapid Spin, Water Gun, Harden), Starmie (Swift, Water Pulse, Recover, Rapid Spin), Goldeen (Splash, Water Gun, Horn Attack, Tail Whip)**

**Brock: Geodude (Rock Throw, Rock Polish, Tackle, Defense Curl), Onix (Rock Tomb, Rock Polish, Tackle, Bind)**

**One more thing: out of nine votes on whether Ash gets all the starters or not...all of them voted for him to get them all! So yeah, you'll see the two other starters down the road.**


	17. Light In The Rain

**Wildstar93: Hey there, everyone, and welcome back to Journey Of An Autistic Trainer! As advised by Canada Cowboy, I decided to have parts where Ash and Misty start getting along better. So this will be the first chapter that will have Ash and Misty bond after the Cerulean City gym battle stuff. That, and there will be another Pokémon to catch.**

**As seen in the last chapter, yes, Ash will be getting all the starters in this story. I was planning on putting the FanFic version of The Path To The ****Pokémon League on here, but that'll be another chapter for another day. I'll put that on there after he gets the last...sorry, not giving out the spoiler. I know you know what that is, but I won't say it yet.**

**By the way, my younger brother turned 20 yesterday. No more teenagers in the family!**

**Uploading Date: October 17, 2015 (My cousin Emma's 19th birthday)**

**Enjoy!**

**...**

_**Light In The Rain**_

"Now the first thing you have to do is take a deep breath."

Ash and his friends were going up the Nugget Bridge to get through more training, even battling a few trainers along the way. Ever since he and Misty had apologized to each other, Brock was teaching them how to get along without losing his temper. Daisy was worried at first that Ash would end up getting yelled at, but surprisingly, they had not argued since they started. Right now, Brock was teaching them to relax and breathe easily.

"Like this?" Ash asked, breathing in and out quickly.

Brock shook his head. "No, that was too quick," he said. "Just take your time and take a deep breath. Like this."

He took a deep breath and let it out as slowly as she could. Ash and Misty tried to do the same thing, taking in as much air as they could until they couldn't breathe. Beside him, his new Bulbasaur nudged their legs as if reminding them to let his breath go; Bulbasaur seemed to be a fatherly kind of Pokémon in spite of being a different species. So Ash did just that, panting to get back to breathing properly, as Misty did the same.

"H..How'd I do?" the Cerulean gym leader gasped.

"Close, but you gotta let your breath go," Brock said. "If we're gonna get anywhere with you two getting along, you gotta at least get the breathing part right. You're both learning well, but it'll take some time before you get it right."

Ash shared a small smile with Misty. With Brock as their teacher in this stuff, they were taking small steps towards getting along at last.

"Hey Brock." Daisy had climbed up the slope they were standing on, stains on an apron she was wearing around her. "The sandwiches are done, and the pasta is almost done. All I have to do now is get some apples and wash them by the river."

Brock smiled. "That's great, Daisy. We're gonna make a supreme chef out of you yet!" To Ash and Misty, he said, "Take five there. Give yourselves time to breathe after all that."

So they headed over to the riverside bank where they were stopping at for sunset. The Pokémon were near a build-and-pack table, already digging into their man-made food. Bulbasaur headed over in between Pikachu and Eevee and dug in, burying his face into the bowl of Pokémon food. Ash, who had taken a ham sandwich and a bowl of noodles, couldn't help but smile a bit. In spite of Bulbasaur being a protective and kind Pokémon, he was still quite a messy Pokémon. As for the food, he really liked the taste of the sandwich and the pasta, the pasta in question being angel-hair pasta. Daisy and Brock had outdone themselves in cooking on the road.

"I'll be looking forward to getting to Vermillion City," Misty mused as they finished their lunch. "It's got a luxury cruise ship."

Ash finished the rest of his sandwich and looked at her. "That's great," he said. "I've always wanted to see what a cruise ship was like. And the gym there too. What kind of Pokémon are there at the gym?"

Daisy flipped through a book she had been carrying. "Electric-types," she reported. "Better be careful there, Ash. Pidgeotto and Butterfree are weak against those attacks."

Brock nodded sagely. "She's right," he said. "If you haven't got a Ground-type yet, why not try Bulbasaur? He's resistant towards Electric-type attacks."

Ash nodded, thankful that his friends always had knowledge to spare. He was about to thank them when an exasperated "Char!" sounded out from the bushes, making them all look over. Since lunch was over, they recalled their Pokémon and packed up their belongings, getting ready to leave after seeing the cause of them leaving. When they went into the bushes, going through and arriving at a clearing, they were met by a surprising Pokémon.

It was a Charmander, just like the one that would evolve into a dragon-like Pokémon one day. Ash excitedly took out his Pokédex to scan its data. It read, _"Charmander is the lizard __Pokémon. The fire on the tip of its tail is a measure of its life. If healthy, its tail burns intensely."_

But that was when he blinked in surprise. Once again, Ash looked between the Charmander in the Pokédex and the one before him. There was a difference between the colors like there were with Daisy's Magikarp. As the Charmander in the Pokédex was orange with a yellow belly, the Charmander before him was a golden-yellow color, though its tail flame was the same reddish-orange color.

"It's a shiny Charmander!" Brock remarked. "You know, it's really rare to see a shiny starter Pokémon."

"No, I didn't really know that," Ash said. "But what's it doing out here?"

"Maybe it's a wild Charmander," Misty guessed. "Let's try catching it and see."

So Ash grabbed a PokéBall and tossed it at the shiny Charmander. It bounced off of it and landed on the ground. To his surprise, the Charmander did not go into the PokéBall. Instead, it was still lying there, waving its tail flame as a warning. Then Misty tried throwing out a PokéBall too, and it hit Charmander. Once again, it just stayed out of the ball, giving a small growl.

"I guess this is someone else's Pokémon," Ash guessed. "I'm sorry, Charmander."

"Char, Char," Charmander said dismissively.

Suddenly, Eevee came out of Daisy's bag and ran over to the Charmander on the rock. Pikachu jumped off of Ash's shoulder and followed her there. Once they were there, they began talking with Charmander, and it was saying something back, not attacking them nor moving away. Then it was finished speaking, so Pikachu and Eevee came back to report.

"Pika, Pi, Pikachu," Pikachu explained, holding up a pebble and tossing it to the ground.

"Eev, Eevee," Eevee added.

"Oh...so he's waiting for someone," Ash mumbled. "When's he coming back?"

Charmander shrugged.

"How do you know?" Daisy asked. "How do you know Charmander's waiting for its trainer?"

Ash shrugged. "I don't know. It's just something I feel inside," he said, looking down at the ground. Then thunder rumbled in the distance, and he turned back to the lizard Pokémon, asking, "Charmander, are you sure you want to stay here?"

"Char..." Charmander said, lying down on the rock this time.

That was when the sky started to slowly turn from bright blue to a dark gray. Ash did not want to leave Charmander behind, but he was scared of thunderstorms. A thunderstorm could strike a tree or a person down, and the winds could be vicious too.

"Okay then," Brock said, giving Charmander a blanket to cover itself. "If you change your mind, let us know."

...

They went back to Cerulean City, where Ash called his mother again. He had explained to her about how they had to stay at Cerulean City for a while because of the storm. Whenever a storm appeared back at home, he would stay with Delia until the storm passed, and he would no longer feel scared. He even told his mother about what Gary had said, and his mother's reaction was like that of a mother Pidgeotto. "I'll let Professor Oak know about this. Gary can't treat you like that any longer!" she promised, giving him her love before hanging up.

After that, Ash went to talk to Professor Oak, and after some talking, explained what Gary had done. Professor Oak had promised to do something about it, and then Ash decided to take Nidoran back with him. Once he got Nidoran back and they were reunited, he went back to the couch and coffee table, where Misty had just come back with dinner. The room in the Pokémon center was now smelling like the rich soup that was being devoured.

Ash really liked the chicken noodle soup; it was one of his favorite liquid meals besides beef stew, and it warmed him up. In spite of that, though, his hunger did not block out the worrying thoughts about Charmander. Here they were, staying in the warm Pokémon center and being warmed up, but Charmander was out there, cold and weak and hungry. He wished he had done something instead of leaving him there on the rock.

_When will his trainer come back?_

"Still worried about that Charmander?" Brock asked, making Ash look away from the window. "I am, too. That Charmander's tail flame kinda looked like it was low."

Ash agreed with him. "I know," he said. "I wish we could do something instead of sitting here."

Misty nodded. "Same here," she said. "I hope he's okay."

"Same here," Daisy said.

Suddenly, a bunch of laughing made Ash and his friends look around. A blue-haired boy with a pink shirt and blue jeans was with a gang of other boys, their raucous laughter like that of a flock of Pidgey. Right before them on a table were lots of PokéBalls, more than Ash had ever seen so far.

"Check 'em out, boys," the head boy said in a British accent, gesturing to the PokéBalls. "Beauties, aren't they?"

"Yeah!" one of them said. "You must be the best trainer ever!"

"Thought you had a shiny Charmander, though," one boy said. "Those are really rare, Damien. What happened to it?"

Damien merely smirked. "Oh, that pathetic thing?" he sneered, making Ash feel something he had never felt in a while: anger. "It's so weak, even a Weedle could beat it! And it kept following me around, making those stupid whining sounds. So naturally, I tricked it into waiting for me on a rock near the river, saying I'll be back. Ha!" He laughed harshly. "As if! I bet he's out there, wagging his stupid little tail out there."

Another boy chortled. "Yeah. I bet he'll wag it so much that the flame will go right out!" This was met by obnoxious laughter from the other boys.

So that was Charmander's trainer...and not a good one either. Ash could feel the blood in his heart boil with rage. How could a trainer be that callous to their own Pokémon? And even though Gary had been a bully to him, even he at least treated his Pokémon fairly.

Just then, the sound of a chair being pushed back reached Ash's ears, and he was startled at first from the noise. Then he saw Brock storming over to the gaggle of chortling boys, grabbed Damien by the scruff of the shirt, and pinned him against the wall.

"Go and get him!" Brock was snarling at Damien. "That Charmander belongs to you! Go get him out of the rain!"

Damien looked startled from how Brock had attacked him, but he started to sneer again. "And why should I?" he jeered.

The Pewter City gym leader did not release him as he growled, "Because he could die out there! That tail flame of his is getting low as we speak! Do you even care that Charmander could die because of you?"

"Why should you care?" Damien growled back, shoving Brock away from him. "It's none of your business anyway!"

Finally finding the courage in him to speak, Ash joined Brock at the other table. "Brock's right. He could die out there!"

"He's right!" Daisy spoke up. "And don't talk like that to my friends!"

_Thanks, Daisy...but I can stick up for myself now, _Ash thought with a small groan. Maybe he could have a talk with Brock about her overprotective nature.

"I'll talk to 'em anyway I want," Damien sneered. "Why would a bunch of brats like you stop me, eh?"

"Because these _brats _don't like seeing you abandon your Pokémon!" Misty retorted.

Damien bristled at the insult, and he started pulling a PokéBall out of the pile, preparing for battle. Ash reached for his belt for one of his PokéBalls, hoping that whatever Damien sent out, Butterfree, Pidgeotto, and Bulbasaur could stand against their foes. Beside him, Daisy, Misty, and Brock prepared to do the same, but they did not get the chance to battle. Loud hand claps echoed in the center, and Ash tried to block out the noise.

"Break it up!" It was Nurse Joy, stepping in between Brock and Damien. "There's no fighting allowed in the center! And please don't use your Pokémon to settle personal arguments!"

"They started it," Damien growled in a whiny voice. He turned to the others and said, "Let's go. Carry those PokéBalls for me."

He started walking off towards another room, giving Brock a hard shove and a sneer before he left. The other boys followed their boss to the other room, each carrying a load of PokéBalls in their arms.

"Please don't mind them or be around them," Nurse Joy told the travelers. "They've gotten a bad reputation around Cerulean City. Just calm down and warm up."

Then she went back to whatever she was doing.

Ash went back to his spot on the sofa, where Pikachu joined him and curled up. He reached down to pet his starter Pokémon, but he could not get himself to cheer up. Damien's words hurt, but that was not the reason why he was upset. It was because of Charmander. He couldn't help but feel even guiltier about leaving Charmander on the rock. He wanted to go out and help, but he couldn't. The storm outside was getting worse outside, and he was worried that anyone could die out there. A loud boom made him curl up more, and Pikachu snuggled closer to him to comfort him.

Thankfully, Brock was there. Ash remembered him saying that he had an autistic sister, and he always knew what to do to help out.

"Ash, it's okay. The storm will pass soon. You'll sleep soundly tonight," Brock whispered as he sat down next to him. "And I'm going. I'm gonna get Charmander out of the rain."

"Out in the rain?" Ash asked anxiously. "It's dangerous out there."

Brock looked up as lightning flashed outside. "True, but I'm gonna risk that," he said. "Sometimes in life, you gotta take a little risk or two. If you don't want to come along, that's fine."

Ash felt something brush against his side and looked down. Pikachu was rubbing himself against his trainer as a way to encourage him. He hated storms, but his worries for Charmander pushed those fears down.

He stood up and said, "I'll go with you, Brock. I wanna help Charmander too."

"Count us in too." Daisy and Misty had walked over to them, the latter having spoken.

Ash looked around at her. "I know you're worried, but we got this handled," he said. "We'll be back quick."

"Hey, it's water out there," Misty replied with a wink. "A little water won't hurt. Besides, Charmander needs all four of us."

Now that Misty said it, Ash knew that she was right. They were all in this journey together. They had gotten this far, and they would finish it together.

So with raincoats and umbrellas ready, they headed out into the rain, crossing over the Nugget Bridge. The storm continued to rage outside, the wind blowing fiercely. Ash felt scared of being out here in the thunderstorm, but Pikachu was there on his shoulder. He could not be scared now. So they shouldered on through the howling winds and the pelting rain as they continued their search for the shiny Charmander.

They did not have that long to find Charmander. A cry of desperation and a bird's shriek made them look to the right, near where they had lunch. They made their way through the bushes until they arrived in the clearing they saw Charmander in...and he wasn't alone this time. He was being harassed by small bird-like Pokémon with brown bodies and red wings. Ash was reminded strongly of Pidgey, but these birds looked more aggressive.

Covering up his Pokédex to keep it dry, Ash scanned the flock of birds attacking Charmander. The Pokédex said, _"Spearow is the tiny bird __Pokémon. It flaps its wings bustly to fly. Using its beak, it searches in grass for prey."_

_No wonder they got mad. They're hungry, _Ash thought. But he could not blame Charmander for that. He had not known that bad trainers except Team Rocket were around, but that all changed today.

"Leave him alone!" Ash called, waving towards the flock.

The Spearow flock stopped pecking at Charmander and leered at him. Then one flew right at Ash and tried pecking at him, and he tried swatting it away. One of its talons managed to scratched at his face, making him yelp in pain. Seeing this, Pikachu sped over with Quick Attack and tackled Spearow in mid-air, grabbing its wing with his teeth and tossing it away. Getting the same idea, Daisy, Misty, and Brock released Beedrill, Staryu, and Zubat to fight against the Spearow flock. Luckily, the Spearow were on a lower level than they, and they ended up falling back into the trees.

Once the Spearow were gone, Ash ran over to check on Charmander. He had been trying to cover himself with a leaf to keep himself dry, but the tail flame was getting dangerously low. There were even bloody scratch marks on his body, perhaps from the Spearow attack. With a sigh, Ash took his raincoat off and wrapped it around Charmander, hoping that he kept warm and dry.

"Keep that tail burning!" Brock told Ash urgently. "Make sure it doesn't go out at all."

He bent down to pick up Charmander, and he, Daisy, and Misty recalled their Pokémon. Once that was done, they hurried down the bridge path and back to Cerulean City, Ash making sure Charmander's tail did not get wet. Misty and Daisy were beside him and Brock, ready to pick up the young Fire-type if he fell onto the ground. _Come on, you gotta live, _Ash said as he felt some of Charmander's blood soak his arm. _We won't let you die out here!_

They kept going until they reached the Pokémon center, where they laid Charmander before Nurse Joy. Just one look at the Charmander was all she needed to see what went on. "I'll see what I can do," she said, taking the injured Pokémon to a healing room. With their work done, Ash and his friends went to the lobby to wait and hear the results.

A half-hour later, Nurse Joy had come to announce that Charmander was getting rest. They went to the viewing window to see how Charmander was doing. The scratches he had gotten from the Spearow were cleaned up, tissues that had his blood on them having been thrown away. There was a bowl of food for Charmander to eat if he got up and was hungry, and thanks to it being a cool night, there were warm coals in a stone bowl to keep him warm.

"That poor Charmander..." Nurse Joy was saying sadly as she left the office. Then she turned to Ash and his friends and angrily demanded, "How could you let Charmander stay out in the rain like that? He could've died out there!"

Ash (who had gotten something warm to drink from being without a raincoat) felt ashamed of himself, but he knew deep down that Damien was at fault here. Brock spoke up, saying, "We're sorry, but it was that kid Damien you stopped me from fighting. He was the one who left Charmander out in the rain, so we brought him back."

Nurse Joy now had a look of understand on her face and nodded. "I see...I'm sorry I snapped," she said. "It's just...Arceus knows how a person be that cruel to abandon their own Pokémon like that. Anyway, Charmander's been weakened by the rain, but he'll make a healthy recovery. He just needs plenty of rest and warmth, and he'll have some breakfast tomorrow morning."

"And what about Damien?" Misty asked. "We gotta make that punk pay for what he did!"

"He left," Nurse Joy said regretfully. "Who would leave in the middle of a storm like this? Still, I'll do my best to help Charmander. Go and rest now."

Misty and Brock left the waiting hall, Brock glancing briefly over his shoulder at Charmander. Ash and Daisy stayed behind to see how the small Fire-type was doing. He was curled up in a ball, making occasional whimpering sounds.

"Poor thing," Daisy murmured. "I hope he makes it through the night."

"I hope so too," Ash said sadly. He rested a hand on the glass wall and tried telling Charmander, "It's us, the people who saved you. We're wishing you a good night's sleep, and I hope you feel better."

But Charmander was already fast asleep. If he had heard him, his tail moved feebly.

With a hopeful sigh, Ash headed back into the lobby, where he curled up onto the sofa with Pikachu beside him. He had heard Nurse Joy mention a god named Arceus, so he prayed to Arceus to keep Charmander alive and well. Once he was finished, he and Pikachu fell asleep.

**...**

"Ash? Ash! Daisy!"

Ash blinked open his eyes, looking around. Misty was right above him, looking anxious. Surprised, he backed away from her until he was right next to Daisy. His rival's sister had been sitting there, apparently waiting for him to wake up, and he had bumped into her. Blushing, he backed away from her and looked around at Misty.

"What's wrong?" he asked.

"It's Charmander," Daisy said. "We went to check up on him, after I checked up on you. Just to make sure you're not hurt or anything."

Ash looked away to roll his eyes. "What about Charmander?" he pressed.

"He's gone!" Misty said. "I think he went back to the rock!"

"Maybe Damien had a change of heart, I hope," Brock spoke up. The fifteen-year-old gym leader had strolled over with a yawn.

_I'm not sure about that, _Ash thought as they started preparing for the day. _He seemed pretty happy that Charmander was all alone. Well, we'll make sure he's not alone this time!_

Once they were done, they left the center and went up the Nugget Bridge once again. The leaves on trees and grass were glistening from either dew or the rainwater the rain left behind, leaving a remarkable scenery that Ash liked seeing. As for Charmander, they noticed a few sparks of flame spit out from the grass not too far away. And sure enough, there was Charmander, spitting embers up into the sky and waving his tail.

_Looks like Misty was right, _Ash thought as they got closer. Just as they got close enough, he looked over at Charmander's tail. To his relief, the flame looked bigger and brighter than it had been last night. Now Charmander was looking around like a sentry scout on duty, standing up on his two legs and looking around.

"Looks like you're all better, Charmander!" Ash greeted the lizard Pokémon.

"Char! Charmander!" There was a hopeful and positive note in Charmander's voice.

"There you are, Charmander!"

All four of them turned around and saw who it was. Damien was swaggering over to them, a smirk on his face. Seeing him made Ash feel the hair on the back of his head bristle; he had never really hated someone before, but Damien was a new piece of work.

"What do you want?" Daisy asked with a stern look.

"What, can't I see my own shiny Charmander?" Damien asked in a condescending tone. To Charmander, he jeered, "Ready to come back with me?"

Pikachu was saying something to Charmander, and the lizard Pokémon was looking unsure. Ash asked, "Why should he come back with you?"

Damien snorted. "Because, you little nobody, I'm his trainer!" Ash clenched his fist at the insult, and Daisy rested a hand on his shoulder. Damien ignored them and said, "See, dumping Charmander was a good idea. That way, it could toughen up, and I could come back for it."

"You call leaving a Charmander out in the rain 'toughening up'?" Misty growled. "He could've died out there!"

Daisy nodded, though she wasn't really looking at Misty. "She's right," she added angrily. "What kind of Pokémon trainer are you?"

Damien snorted. "Defending that Charmander? What are you, its trainer?" he jeered. "What's wrong with dumping a weak Pokémon that can't win?"

"How dare you call yourself a trainer!" Brock snarled.

"Who cares?" Damien retorted with a leer. "The only good thing about a Pokémon is if it wins fights for you. Now Charmander..." He turned to the golden-colored Charmander. "Return!"

But what happened next surprised Ash. Immediately, Charmander sent an Ember attack at Damian, burning his hand and making him yelp as he dropped the PokéBall. He had apparently seen his trainer's true colors now, from the leer he had on his face, and he was baring his teeth in rage.

"I won't accept your disobedience!" Damien snarled, grabbing lots of other PokéBalls from his bag. "I am your trainer, and you _will _follow my-"

But Charmander interrupted again with another Ember. Pikachu joined in by using Thundershock, and Daisy's Eevee came out of her PokéBall again to bite him on the leg.

"Should we do something?" Daisy asked. "He's a jerk, but...shouldn't we call our Pokémon off?"

"Any Pokémon trainer who abuses their Pokémon's fair game to me," Misty remarked.

Daisy could only say, "...good point."

Finally, Damien had given up, and Eevee backed away from him. Taking all of his PokéBalls with him, he sped on down the road, shouting, "You haven't seen the last of me!" Charmander watched him go with a prideful snort, waving his tail and growling fiercely. Ash saw Daisy and Misty watch Damien flee with satisfaction and felt the same way. No one had the right to ever abuse a Pokémon.

All of a sudden, Charmander looked around at Ash and gave his leg a one-armed hug. He was amazed to see Charmander act this friendly towards humans he had only known for nearly a day.

"I think Charmander wants to go with you, Ash," Brock remarked. "He wants to prove himself to you."

"He looks a lot happier being around you," Daisy added.

Ash looked down at Charmander and back at Brock again. "Are you sure?" he asked. "You kept Charmander dry."

Brock crossed his arms. "True, but you're the one who kept his tail flame from going out. To a Charmander, a tail flame is everything, and you ended up saving his life. I believe that's why he wants to join you."

Ash drifted his gaze back to Charmander, who was watching him with a fire in his eyes. Then he asked, "Charmander, are you sure you wanna join me?"

Charmander gave a firm nod. "Char!" he replied.

"Okay then," Ash said, setting a PokéBall down on the ground. "Welcome to the family, Charmander."

So Charmander walked over to the PokéBall Ash set on the ground and looked down at it. Then he tapped it once with a claw, and he was sucked into the ball. The ball twitched around a few times and was still.

"We got it," Ash said with joy as he picked up the PokéBall. "We got a shiny Charmander!"

"Pika, Pi!" Pikachu cheered with him.

Now Ash had gotten five Pokémon on his team, and he and his friends had saved a Pokémon. With his heart light with joy, he and his friends decided to leave Cerulean City this time and continue on to Vermilion City.

_**To be continued...**_

**...**

**Wildstar93: There we go, folks. This is my longest chapter in my story as of today. If there's anything wrong with this chapter, let me know and I'll fix it. I appreciate constructive criticism as long as you're polite about it.**

**I added in Ash's fear of thunderstorms because I myself am scared of thunderstorms. I don't mind if it's just raining, but if it's gusting winds and lightning strikes, that's where I draw the line. Maybe it's because I'm scared lightning could strike a tree next to our house and it falls on us, or if it floods. Then again, the last time it flooded at our place, it didn't reach us, for we live on a hill.**

**Ash: Pikachu (Thundershock, Quick Attack, Double Team, Electro Ball), Pidgeotto (Wing Attack, Gust, Sand Attack, Quick Attack), Butterfree (String Shot, Confusion, Tackle, Gust), Bulbasaur (Tackle, Vine Whip, Poison Powder, Leech Seed), ****Nidoran (Peck, Double Kick, Focus Energy, Poison Sting), Charmander (Scratch, Metal Claw, Ember, Smokescreen)**

**Daisy: Eevee (Tackle, Iron Tail, Helping Hand, Tail Whip), Beedrill (Poison Sting, Agility, String Shot, Pin Missile), Magikarp (Splash)**

**Misty: Staryu (Rapid Spin, Water Gun, Harden), Starmie (Swift, Water Pulse, Recover, Rapid Spin), Goldeen (Splash, Water Gun, Horn Attack, Tail Whip)**

**Brock: Geodude (Rock Throw, Rock Polish, Tackle, Defense Curl), Onix (Rock Tomb, Rock Polish, Tackle, Bind), Zubat (Leech Life, Supersonic, Bite, Wing Attack)**


	18. The Squirtle Squad

**Wildstar93: Hey there, everyone, and welcome back to Journey Of An Autistic Trainer! I see that plenty of people like the Charmander chapter better than when Ash got Bulbasaur.**

**I'm really sorry it too me this long to upload this chapter, but I've been taking a break from this story, working on upcoming book ideas. I always get these whenever inspiration strikes. I've also been thinking of adding a shout-out to SaoirseParia's story called Pokémon: A Marvelous Journey, Johto Arc. But that'll appear later on in the story.**

**Uploading Date: February 12, 2016**

**Enjoy!**

**...**

_**The Squirtle Squad**_

They had just gone south of Cerulean City when Ash had thought of something. So he had pulled Brock to the side to say what was on his mind. Brock had just gotten busy working with Daisy on today's lunch when Ash had approached him.

"Hey," Brock said with a smile. "I'm taking a short break from making lunch. What's on your mind, Ash?"

Ash looked past Brock to make sure Daisy wasn't listening. She was just talking with Misty, who had started brushing Starmie and making sure it wasn't dirty. Then he looked back to Brock and said, "It's about Daisy. Have you noticed how she always defends me?"

Brock nodded. "Yeah, I've noticed that," he said. "I don't really blame her. She wants to look out for you, after all."

"I know, but that's what I wanted to talk to you about," he said. "I feel like she's been defending me a bit too much. Daisy's one of my best friends, but I wanna be my own person and not depend on her all the time."

"Hmm...that was a rather interesting situation you have there," Brock remarked. "I had my autistic sister ask almost the same thing."

Ash found himself wishing he had met Brock's autistic sister. But he kept himself focused on the task at hand and said, "Can you talk to Daisy about it? I'm kinda too nervous to do it."

Brock looked back to Daisy and back again. "Okay, I'll talk to her about it," he said. "But I can't promise you anything. Until this gets fixed, just act like you normally do, and when you come."

"Okay," Ash said. "Thanks, Brock."

They joined Daisy and Misty for lunch, where they had chicken noodle soup; Misty had recommended it due to the chicken noodle soup they had at the Pokémon center. Charmander had just met the other Pokémon, and they were sympathetic to how his former trainer had treated him, especially Bulbasaur, who had known what it was like to see abandoned Pokémon. He was certainly fitting in with the group, that was for sure.

Suddenly, with a snicker, Beedrill buzzed over to Magikarp and pushed her to the ground, leaving her flopping around. While she was busy flailing, he went ahead and swiped some of her food away.

"Hey, that wasn't nice!" Ash scolded the bee Pokémon. "Give Magikarp's food back!"

Beedrill, however, buzzed and pointed one of his stingers to the sky. Ash did not know what that meant, but he didn't like Beedrill's attitude.

"Ash is right, Beedrill," Daisy scolded her Pokémon. "That's not a nice thing to do to Magikarp. Now apologize."

With a grumpy buzz, Beedrill buzzed something to Magikarp. But then, it apparently buzzed something nasty, for Magikarp had started flopping around again. Seeing this, Beedrill buzzed in a chuckling way and waved a stinger around in a "come at me" way.

"You two quit it!" Daisy scolded. "You're on the same team!"

But then, there was no more need for arguing. Bulbasaur had gotten between Magikarp and Beedrill, saying something in his tongue to both of them. Whatever Bulbasaur said, it seemed to work, for the two merely nodded and went back to their food. _Looks like Bulbasaur makes one good peacekeeper, _Ash thought with a small smile. _That's good. I hate it when our Pokémon fight like that._

"What was that about?" Misty pondered as they continued their lunch.

"Just a little rivalry," Brock said, giving Daisy a pointed look. Ash believed he was talking about the chat they had earlier. "That'll require a trainer's patience and care to work it out."

Just then, a rock flew out of the bushes and hit Magikarp on the side. Magikarp was once again agitated, flopping around madly, and the other Pokémon backed away from the flailing fish.

"Beedrill!" Daisy scolded. "Did you hit Magikarp again?"

Beedrill started buzzing frantically, waving his stingers as fast as he could. However, by the look Daisy was looking at him, she didn't believe him.

Just then, however, Misty asked, "Where did the cookies go?"

Ash looked around to the table. Between the chicken noodle soup and the bottles of juice was a plate where the cookies should have been. He couldn't help but groan at this. It was like when a Rattata had taken cookies out of his bag on his first day as a trainer.

"At least we still got the juice," Brock said. "That's something, right?"

But as he finished pouring the glass and set it down, a blue reptilian hand suddenly shot out and grabbed the cup. The trainers looked at where the hand came from in surprise. Where had that hand come from?

Then they saw something walk out in front of them. It was a small blue turtle-like Pokémon with a curled tail, a brown shell, and, strangely enough) a pair of wedge-shaped sunglasses over its eyes. And it was eating a cookie and sipping a glass of juice, looking like it did not have a care in the world.

_That must be the one stealing the cookies, _Ash thought as he took out his Pokédex. It read, _"Squirtle is the tiny turtle __Pokémon, and it evolves into Wartortle. It shelters itself in its shell then strikes back with spouts of water at every opportunity."_

It was the last starter Pokémon of Kanto. Ash had never known for starter Pokémon to roam the wild until he had seen Bulbasaur. And here was a Squirtle right before them, boldly stealing their lunch and living wild.

"So that wasn't you, Beedrill," Daisy said with a sigh, looking to her Pokémon team. "I'm sorry I accused you."

Beedrill responded with a low buzz. Ash suspected that the poison bee Pokémon had accepted the apology, though rather reluctantly.

"And _you _were the one stealing our lunch," Misty told the Squirtle. When it stopped, looked around, and nodded rather brazenly, she said, "Then leave our lunch alone! It's not yours!"

Squirtle merely stuck out its tongue and blew a raspberry. If looks could kill, then Squirtle would have died from the glare Misty was giving it, but it didn't seem to care either way.

"Pika Pi!"

Ash looked over to see Pikachu start shouting something at the Squirtle, running over and facing his new opponent. Just then, Bulbasaur joined him in facing against Squirtle, and Ash was betting that they were going to beat their foe two-on-one. Instead, the Squirtle smirked at them, turned around, and called at the top of its lungs, "SQUIRTLLLLE!"

The bushes rustled, and just then, four other Squirtle emerged from the woods. All of them were also wearing sunglasses, and they were also holding cookies in their hands. When they noticed the humans, they ate their cookies quickly and then laughed at the humans and their Pokémon.

"You wanna fight, Squirtle?" Ash asked the leader of the gang.

"Squirt!" Squirtle replied, standing up straight.

Ash looked around to his friends. "Can you help fight them off?"

"You bet we will," Misty said. "I like Water-types, but I can't stand those Squirtle right now!"

"What'd you expect us to do, leave you to do all the fighting?" Brock asked, stepping over to help out.

Ash nodded, looking down to Pikachu. He was running over to face the Squirtle gang again, Bulbasaur and Charmander backing him up. Daisy's Eevee and Brock's Zubat also came over to assist in the fight, and these five Pokémon were line up against the Squirtle gang.

Then the fight began. Pikachu and Bulbasaur launched themselves at the leader of the Squirtle gang, and Charmander had to dodge to the side to avoid a Water Gun attack. Zubat was darting around the bodies, trying to find a vulnerable area to bite, and Eevee ended up tackling one Squirtle trying to aim for Charmander's tail flame. That had been a close one, Ash thought, for he recalled the shiny Charmander nearly dying from his flame almost going out.

A growl made Ash look to the side. Pikachu and the Squirtle boss were trading blows, charging up attacks and ramming into each other. At one point, Pikachu started charging up with electricity, but that was when Ash noticed something different. Pikachu would usually start charging up quickly and fire a powerful Thundershock, but this time, it took longer for him to charge. When he released the attack, it struck Squirtle hard on the shell. Squirtle gaped at Pikachu with shock (pun unintended) before growling in anger.

"Wow, that was Thunderbolt!" Daisy exclaimed. "It's more powerful than Thundershock!"

Ash looked down at Pikachu, and he saw his cheeks sparkling with larger sparks. Then he commanded, "Pikachu and Charmander, Thunderbolt and Ember!"

"Ash, no!" Brock suddenly yelled. "Tell Charmander to stop!"

But it was too late. Charmander had fired an Ember attack at a Squirtle, who jumped to the side. The embers had landed on the dry bushes behind the Squirtle gang, and small flames sprang up from the bushes. Slowly but steadily, the flames started to spread from the bushes to the trees above, traveling by vines.

_Brock was right, _Ash thought with horror and shame as the fire started spreading more. _What have I done? If I hadn't been doing something stupid, this wouldn't have happened!_

"I'm sorry!" he blurted out, trying to keep the tears of shame from flowing. "I didn't know!"

"Forget the apology!" Misty called, calling out her Water-type Pokémon out. "Just help put out the fire!"

Staryu, Starmie, and Goldeen were already spraying water onto the fiery bushes. Onix and Geodude were called out too to throw some dirt and rocks to quell the fire, and Daisy's Eevee joined them as she kicked dirt over stray flames. Ash was tempted to bring out Pidgeotto and Butterfree, but he was afraid that the fire would spread out further.

"Squirtle gang!" he told the turtle Pokémon, who were panicking at the sight of the fire. "I need you to listen!"

The Squirtle leader, despite having been startled by the flames, merely crossed his arms. Pikachu was furious and fired a Thunderbolt at the gang leader, who yelped in alarm and jumped to the side before glaring at him.

"We need your help putting this fire out," Ash said as he tried to calm down. "We can't do it if we keep fighting like this. If we don't do something, everything in the forest is gonna burn. Can you help us out?"

Next to them, Onix and Geodude were already at work, throwing up lots of sand and dirt to cover the fire. Staryu and Starmie were beside them, shooting out some water and moving from one place to another. The Squirtle gang watched them at work, and then, they looked around at each other, whispering to each other and sometimes nodding or shrugging. Finally, they turned back to Ash.

"Squirtle!" the Squirtle leader confirmed, nodding his head.

He started pointing towards the fire, directing his friends into the starting points of putting out the fire. Two Squirtle started using Water Gun on the fire right away, and the Squirtle leader assisted the other two in the flames opposite them. Both teams (trainers and Squirtle gang) were now working together to keep the fire from spreading any further.

At one point, there was a cry coming from in the forest. A young Rattata, separated from her family, was calling out to her family, shivering. Quick as a flash of lightning, Pikachu jumped over a powerful flame, picked the Rattata back up, and made way for the fire wall. The Squirtle Squad saw this and used Water Gun on the fire wall, leaving a safe path for Pikachu and the Rattata to make it to the other side.

Finally, the flames were starting to disappear or go down. The progress had gone a lot quicker since the Squirtle had joined them. The Pokémon were called back into their balls, and the Squirtle Squad were congratulating each other.

"Again, I'm really sorry about all this," Ash told his friends. "If I hadn't had Charmander always use Ember, this wouldn't have happened."

"Quit blaming yourself," Misty told him bluntly. "What's done is done, and there's no harm done other than burnt plants."

A siren blared in the summer air, alerting the Squirtle into hiding into their shells. The human group looked around at an Officer Jenny arriving on the scene while riding on a motorcycle. Ash remembered seeing the different Nurse Joys and Officer Jennys, so this was not the one from Viridian City.

"I heard there was a fire in the area," the officer was saying as soon as she stopped by them. "Who started the fire?"

Ash knew that it was his fault the forest had caught fire. He was the only one who had a Fire-type Pokémon with him, and he was the one who told Charmander to use Ember. So he walked over and said,"It's my fault, Officer Jenny. We were fending off the Squirtle, and I let my Charmander's Ember get out of control. I'm sorry; it won't happen again."

He knew he was going to be yelled at; he hated it, but deep down inside, he knew he deserved it. Instead, Officer Jenny remarked, "Well, you helped put the fire out before more damage was done to the forest, so there's no harm done. But next time, be more careful when you have Fire-type Pokémon with you," she warned in a sterner tone. Then with a glance at the gang of Squirtle peeking out of their shells, she said, "Looks like the Squirtle Squad helped you out pretty good."

Ash looked at the Squirtle too. "Squirtle Squad?" he asked. "I thought they were called the Squirtle Gang."

"Well, we've called them the Squirtle Squad, and they've been causing trouble for years," Officer Jenny said. "We figured that the reason they behave this way is because of being abandoned by trainers. But I think we got an idea on how they can make up for their trouble-making."

"Squirt?" the head Squirtle asked. He ended up coming out of his shell and tilting its head to one side.

Officer Jenny walked over to the Squirtle Squad, and they prepared themselves for an attack. But she held up a hand of peace and said, "Squirtle Squad, I get the feeling that you put out this forest fire with ease. How would you like to join the fire department in putting out fires? It'll be worth your while, and it can help you repay the damage you've done around here."

Now the Squirtles looked interested, and they talked about it amongst themselves. Instead of the usual disagreements in the squad, they all seemed to agree. There was a part where the four other Squirtle exclaimed something in shock until the leader calmed them down. They allowed looks of resignation about whatever they talked about before turning back around.

"Squirtle!" they all told Officer Jenny with a nod. Then the leader walked over to Ash and patted his leg, saying, "Squirt, Squirtle."

"I think Squirtle already saw your worth," Brock said. "He might want to join you."

The four other Squirtle again looked dismayed at their leader leaving them, just when they got their new job. The Squirtle leader gave them a firm nod, and they once again nodded, as if saying farewell to them. And that was when the Squirtle Squad leader removed his sunglasses, revealing eyes filled with emotional pride.

So while the Squirtle Squad left with Officer Jenny, Ash held out a PokéBall. He dropped it to the ground, and Squirtle wandered up to it, tapping it once in a curious way. He was then sucked into the ball, which began twitching a few times before finally stopping with a _ding!_

"We did it!" Ash cheered, picking up the PokéBall. "We got Squirt-"

But just as he was cheering, something made his happiness turn to sorrow. The PokéBall containing Squirtle glowed white and suddenly disappeared!

"S-Squirtle!" Ash cried, looking around. "He's gone! Where are you?!"

"Pika, Pika!" Pikachu called.

Daisy was by his side instantly. She wrapped an arm around him and pulled him close, saying, "It's okay, Ash. It's okay."

Ash tried pulling away, crying, "No it won't! Squirtle's gone!"

"No he's not." Misty had walked over to them to see what the matter was. Her voice was firm but not angry. "Calm down, Ash, Squirtle's fine. He's probably at Professor Oak's right now."

"P-Professor Oak?" Ash repeated, aware of the tears running down his face. "Why there?"

Misty opened her mouth to reply, but Brock piped up, "I can answer that. Trainers can't carry more than six Pokémon with them. You have Pikachu, Pidgeotto, Butterfree, Nidoran, Bulbasaur, and Charmander with you. So Squirtle went away to a storage of sorts. That way, you can always check up on Squirtle and see how he's doing or switch some Pokémon around to carry him around."

"So it'll be okay," Daisy said as she wrapped her arm more around Ash. Though she did give Misty a hard look and went on, "Squirtle's going to be fine."

Ash had seen the look Daisy gave Misty, and he had mixed feelings for that. On one hand, he was thankful of Daisy for being there for him. But on the other hand, he didn't to be protected around the clock. He knew he would always be dependent on someone because of his autism, but he wanted to stand up for himself for once in his life.

**...**

They had rested near the tunnel leading from Cerulean City to Vermilion City when Brock pulled Daisy to the side. Ash's words came ringing back into his brain, and he was sure he could tell Daisy what the problem was.

"Daisy, I gotta tell you something about Ash," Brock said.

"What?" Daisy asked, sounding worried. "Is there something wrong? What's wrong with Ash?"

Brock shrugged. "Nothing, but...not to be harsh, but I think you're becoming too overprotective," he said. Daisy opened her mouth to protest, and Brock said quickly, "I'm not saying it's your fault or anything, but...look, I know you wanna look out for Ash. But there's a time and place for him to protect himself. I believe you've been protecting him a lot, and I think you've been doing it too much." Then he nodded to where Misty was helping Ash with something and said, "And I've seen the looks you gave Misty. Sure, she had been rude to Ash before, but she's learning to get along with him."

Daisy sighed and said, "I...I didn't mean to be _that_ overprotective over Ash. I'm his best friend's sister, and I didn't like how Gary treated him. So...I thought I'd help him out by protecting him, especially after how Misty yelled at him." Her voice started to lower in shame. "I promised Delia I'd help her son."

"You're a good person, and your intentions are good too," Brock said, laying a hand on her shoulder. "But you gotta let Ash defend himself too. So the next time someone gets onto him, depending on the situation, let him defend himself. If he starts caving in, then that's when you can step in and help him. But just wait and see."

At this, Daisy lowered her head, closing her eyes and thinking. Brock waited patiently and did not make any other moves. Daisy was indeed nice and very pretty, but he was happier that she was his friend, for he knew she did not take it too well with his flirting. Finally, she opened her eyes, and he leaned forward, waiting for an answer.

"Okay," she finally said. "Next time, I'll let Ash defend himself."

Brock smiled sympathetically. "It'll be all right, Daisy. Once Ash defends himself more often, we'll all rest at ease."

_**To be continued...**_

**...**

**Wildstar93: Hey, guys. Again, I'm really sorry this took long to update. I've had to take some time away from writing FanFiction. I know, I can't keep skipping this story, but I've been working on a book trilogy I plan to publish. I won't promise I'll update every day, but I do promise to figure out what else will happen in this FanFic. Other than that, let me know what you think of this story. If there's anything that needs fixing, let me know, and I'll fix it. I appreciate constructive criticism as long as you're polite about it.  
**

**Ash: Pikachu (Quick Attack, Double Team, Electro Ball, Thunderbolt), Pidgeotto (Wing Attack, Gust, Sand Attack, Quick Attack), Butterfree (String Shot, Confusion, Gust, Tackle), Nidoran (Poison Sting, Double Kick, Horn Attack, Leer), Bulbasaur (Leech Seed, Poison Powder, Tackle, Vine Whip), Charmander (Scratch, Metal Claw, Ember, Smokescreen)  
At Professor Oak's: Squirtle (Water Gun, Withdraw, Rapid Spin, Tackle)**

**Daisy: Eevee (Tackle, Iron Tail, Helping Hand, Tail Whip), Beedrill (Poison Sting, Agility, String Shot, Pin Missile), Magikarp (Splash)**

**Misty: Staryu (Rapid Spin, Water Gun, Harden), Starmie (Swift, Water Pulse, Recover, Rapid Spin), Goldeen (Splash, Water Gun, Horn Attack, Tail Whip)**

**Brock: Geodude (Rock Throw, Rock Polish, Tackle, Defense Curl), Onix (Rock Tomb, Rock Polish, Tackle, Bind), Zubat (Leech Life, Supersonic, Bite, Wing Attack)**

**See ya next time!**


	19. A Gym Of A Hundred Wins

**Hey there, everyone, and welcome back to Journey Of An Autistic Trainer! I had gotten into a funk with writing books, and I'm taking a short break from that. Right now, I'm working on publishing the Cats Of The Island book and making a book collection of fairy tales and folktales around the world.**

**I had a review telling me that this story seemed to not talk a lot about autism and more about Pokémon. I just wanted to say that even though Ash does have autism in this story, it's gonna focus on how Ash doesn't want to be defined just because of his autism. He wants to be the best trainer he can be, even if he won't be as powerful as trainers like, say...Lance or Steven or Cynthia. Same with trying to be an author; I know I won't be as good an author as those like J.K. Rowling or J.R. Tolkien, but I'm just gonna be myself and write the best I can.**

**Sorry for that rambling. Onward with the story!**

**Uploading Date: September 29, 2016**

**Enjoy!**

**...**

_**A Gym Of A Hundred Wins**_

They continued down the route towards Vermilion City, which would take around two or three days to get to on foot. Ash and his friends had gotten up early in the morning to get on the road so that they could get there early.

Along the way, Ash had battled several trainers. Misty had warned him that the trainers were a little tougher than him, so Ash had spent time training his team until they were in a fighting spirit. Right now, Ash was battling a boy who had gotten a Spearow and a Rattata. He had gotten Pikachu to battle Spearow, and for the Rattata, he had used Nidoran. He figured that Nidoran wanted a bit of exercise after spending time at Professor Oak's lab.

"Nice moves!" the kid said as he recalled his fainted Rattata. "How'd you come up with them?"

"I had some help," Ash admitted, looking to Daisy, Misty, and Brock. "A little help from some friends."

The kid murmured something to the Rattata in its PokéBall before looking back up. "If you want, you can try battling AJ. He's got an unofficial gym set up on his own, and he's got ninety-eight wins, and he's never lost a battle! His gym is just down the road if you want to stop by and battle him."

He gave Ash his winning money and left.

Ash thought over the new gym and found himself thinking. Could anyone start a gym on their own? For a moment, he thought of making a gym of his own with plenty of Pokémon to help him out. When he saw that his friends had walked off without him, he hurried to catch up to them.

Not much was said between the four travelers as they approached the top of a hill. Beyond that hill, they could see a building sitting between two tall hills. It looked like the gym Brock had back at Pewter City except it looked smaller and less rocky. Before them was a sign that pointed them in that direction.

"Hey Brock?" he asked, walking past the sign. "Can anyone, I mean just _anyone_, make their own gym?"

"Maybe. I don't think it's against the league rules for that. And since that kid says it's an unofficial gym, it probably won't be around for long," Brock said as they went down the path toward the building. "Still, maybe we better go pay this place a visit."

They approached the gate, and that was when Ash looked up. He wanted to think of what would await them, and he ended up looking at a billboard that kept scores. One side with the word "Home" had a score of 98 wins, while the other side ("Visiting") was still at zero.

"Looks like that kid was right," Daisy mumbled, crossing her arms. "How did this kid get strong?"

"I don't know, but I bet he took a few coffee breaks in between," Misty remarked. "How else would he get all those wins in a row?"

Ash had no idea,

"Are ya my next victims?" a southern voice drawled behind them.

Ash and his friends spun around. A stocky black-haired teen at Brock's age was coming over to the gate with a smirk. He was wearing a black vest over a red shirt, and he wore green shorts.

"You must be the guy who runs this gym," Ash guessed.

The teen chuckled. "Wow. Someone give this kid the medal of obviousness!" he said with a laugh, and Ash felt his face heat up. "But yep, my job here is to give chumps like you a beating of a lifetime. Ready to lose, kid?"

Ash was about to say something when a hand rested on his shoulder. He briefly got scared before Daisy's voice said, "Be careful, Ash. Don't go rushing into things. Be sure you're ready."

So Ash nodded and said, "I'm sure, Daisy. I'm ready!"

So AJ opened the gates and led them inside his gym. But it appeared to be more of an arena outside the building than an actual gym. The arena was raised up a bit by large planks of wood, which were as sturdy as redwood trees.

"Not bad," Brock said with approval. "I might add an outdoor arena for my gym one day."

"And you keep it clean too," Misty added.

Just then, a Butterfree flew down before AJ as its trainer took his backpack off and withdrew a few PokéBalls from there. The Butterfree then chirped as it took the backpack and lifted off with it. Ash had been watching this in wonder, wondering what was going to happen, when AJ spotted him looking at him.

"What're you lookin' at? Didn't your mama tell ya not to stare?" he asked gruffly. Ash quickly looked away, and AJ added, "If you wanna know, it's the wild Pokémon I caught today. There's a bunch more in my tent and then some."

"Wow...how much do you have?" Ash asked. "And can I see them?"

AJ sniffed. "If ya want." He climbed up the steps to the arena and asked, "So which three Pokémon are you gonna choose for my 99th win?"

Ash walked up the arena too, looking down at his belt. He had no idea which Pokémon AJ had, and as Daisy said, he had to be careful.

"I don't know," he admitted. Hoping that he sounded braver, he added, "But still, after today, you could be beaten."

"Sorry, kid," AJ said, not sounding that sorry, "but you're not playing in the little leagues anymore. And after I win one hundred matches in a row, I'm gonna start competin' for official gym badges!"

"That's quite an accomplishment!" Daisy spoke up. "How come you haven't gotten badges yet? Ash already won two."

AJ eyed Ash with mild dislike. "Not bad for a runt...though they can be flukes for all I care," he said. "The reason, little lady, is because I had to work hard to get all these wins."

_Flukes? _Ash thought with mild irritation. He had at first thought that flukes were on fish Pokémon, but he had later learned that it was a different meaning. Then he said, "My battles weren't flukes. I won them fair and square!"

"We'll see about that," AJ retorted. "Just to let ya know, yer Pokémon are gonna be no match against my Sandshrew! Sandshrew! Show 'im what fer!"

He threw out a PokéBall, and a Sandshrew came out with a battle cry. Ash recognized it from Mount Moon, and it curled up into a ball to bounce a few times before coming back out. He had remembered Daisy and Misty saying that Brock's Pokémon were weak against Water and Grass types, so he had to play it smart.

"Bulbasaur, I choose you!" Ash called, releasing Bulbasaur's PokéBall.

The seed Pokémon came out, crouching into a battle stance and gave a growl. He even whipped out his vines, ready for an attack.

"A Bulbasaur, huh?" AJ asked with a guffaw. "Don't think you got the easy part, kid! Types ain't everything! Sandshrew, Rollout!"

Sandshrew curled up into a ball and hurled itself at Bulbasaur. Ash called "Bulbasaur, Vine Whip it away!", and Bulbasaur lashed out with his vines. One vine caught Sandshrew and bounced it towards the walls around the arena.

"Sandshrew, bounce back and Rollout!" AJ sneered.

With a cry for battle, Sandshrew bounced off the wall and, spinning toward Bulbasaur, hurled itself against him. Bulbasaur slid back in surprise from the attack, but he growled and stood his ground.

"Bulbasaur, Poison Powder!" Ash called.

So Bulbasaur started shaking his bulb, and the purple poisonous powder spewed out from the top. As if by an unspoken command, Sandshrew curled up into a ball and started spinning around, scattering the purple powder to the ground. When the dust cleared, Sandshrew was uncurled once again, and it did not look hurt.

"Like it?" AJ asked with a smirk. "Learned it from my last challenger. He'd had his Electabuzz use somethin' like that with his electric attacks!"

_That guy must've been tough, _Ash pondered with wonder. _I wouldn't mind trying that in the future._ Out loud, he cried, "Bulbasaur, Vine Whip again, and grab Sandshrew!"

Bulbasaur growled and lashed out his vines again, and Sandshrew curled up into a ball again and let the vines wrap themselves around its body again.

"Sandshrew, full force!" AJ roared.

That was when Sandshrew propelled itself forward at Bulbasaur, spinning in circles. It smacked Bulbasaur right in the face, and the Seed Pokémon released it, looking dizzy and ready to fall. And down it fell like an oak tree, dazed and unable to continue.

"That's one point for me!" AJ cheered. "Sandshrew, yeh did great out there!"

_If only I had stopped to withdraw Squirtle, _Ash thought, recalling Bulbasaur. "You did awesome, Bulbasaur. You earned a rest." He then tossed out another PokéBall, calling, "Charmander, I choose you!"

Charmander came out of the ball, letting out a battle cry. He seemed to sparkle as he came out of his ball. Ash had learned from Brock that shiny Pokémon tended to sparkle as they came out of PokéBalls.

"Whoa...a shiny Charmander!" AJ exclaimed, eyes envious as he eyed the yellow lizard Pokémon. Then he smirked and said, "Still, it ain't gonna stand a chance against Sandshrew! Use Rollout again!"

Sandshrew once again curled into a ball and hurled itself at Charmander. Charmander, as if sensing the type weakness, braced himself.

"Charmander, Ember!" Ash called.

So Charmander spat out several embers out at the Ground-type. Sandshrew curled itself into a ball to protect itself, and Ash was worried. But Sandshrew appeared to flinch as a burn appeared on its stomach as it uncurled itself.

"Drat! Sandshrew, spin around in circles!" AJ barked. "Git that burn off of ya!"

Once more, Sandshrew curled into a ball and spun around the dirt. Sandshrew appeared to be so heavy like this that it left a small hole in the ground. With a battle cry, it leaped up and uncurled itself as it landed before Charmander.

"Charmander, Metal Claw!" Ash called.

"Sandshrew, show 'em yer Crush Claw!" AJ retorted.

Both Pokémon ran at each other and slammed into each other with their claws. However, because of Damien's neglect of Charmander, Sandshrew's claws were even tougher, and Charmander was blown backward.

"Charmander, return!" Ash called, holding up Charmander's PokéBall. When the Fire-type went inside, he told the ball, "You did great out there, Charmander. Take a good rest."

"For a shiny, that Charmander sure didn't dazzle me!" AJ sneered. "So you gonna send out your next Pokémon, or do you wanna quit?"

"I'll try one more time," Ash declared. "Pidgeotto, I choose you!"

He threw out the PokéBall, and Pidgeotto came soaring out with a battle cry. She landed on the battlefield and stared at Sandshrew, who got into a battle pose and was ready to fight.

"Pidgeotto, Wing Attack!" Ash commanded.

Pidgeotto let out another cry and flew right at Sandshrew.

"Sandshrew, take the attack!" AJ suddenly demanded.

To everyone's shock, Sandshrew stood its ground and took Pidgeotto's attack. Ash looked closer and saw why AJ had told it so. Sandshrew was holding Pidgeotto slightly away from it by holding on to her wings. Even Pidgeotto was surprised that her attack was halted.

"Now Rollout!" AJ barked.

Sandshrew quickly let go of Pidgeottot and curled up into a ball, hurling itself at her. It hit its mark, right in her chest, which sent her flying to the other side of the arena. Ash waited for her to get up and attack again...but she didn't. That Rollout had completely knocked her out.

With a small frown, Ash recalled Pidgeotto. "Return!" he said as the bird Pokémon went inside the ball. "You did your best out there."

"Not bad, kid, but your Pidgeotto ain't really a defensive bird. Keep up the training, and you can beat me someday," AJ said with a smirk. Noticing the down look on Ash's face, he added, "Hey, ya wanted to look at my team, right? They're in that tent."

"I'd like to see it," Brock said. "You know, to see how that Sandshrew wiped out Bulbasaur, Charmander, and Pidgeotto."

Ash frowned again, not really liking how he was beaten so easily. Before he could say something, Daisy had walked up next to him.

"It'll be okay, Ash," she told him soothingly. "Everyone loses now and then."

"But not like _that_," Misty remarked. "Brock's right. I wanna see how that Sandshrew got to be so strong."

"Score one more!" AJ was barking toward the scoreboard. "Our 99th win in a row! Come on," he told the other four trainers. "That is, unless you wanna stay out here in the heat."

So the four friends followed AJ down the steps and out toward the tent behind the arena. When they got inside, it was not like any tent they had ever gone into.

It was like a wrestling gym...only a bit more lethal. A Beedrill was jabbing towards the same Butterfree with its stingers, and the Butterfree had to dodge to the side. Not far away, two Rattata were jumping through hoops of fire and balancing on bouncy balls. Ash felt a little uncomfortable watching this. He knew that training a Pokémon was good, but to this extreme?

"Sandshrew, come on out!" AJ barked, holding out a ball and letting Sandshrew come out. "You whipped some butt out there, but we can try harder than that! To the pool with ya!"

Sandshrew gave a growl and ran over to a pool in the center of the large tent. It climbed up a ladder all the way to the top, nearly to the top of the tent, and stood on the board, looking down at everything. Then it jumped into the pool, making Ash and his friends gasp at this scene. Sandshrew was a Ground-type; what if it drowned?

But just then, Sandshrew came back up to the surface, shaking its body around to get dry. AJ then barked "Back to the pool!" and Sandshrew hurried back to repeat the stunt. Worried about the Sandshrew, Ash walked up until he was just behind the older trainer.

"Are you sure Sandshrew's okay with that?" Ash asked. "He'll get hurt."

"Keep yer nose outta my business," AJ told him roughly. "Sandshrew, back to the pool, or no snack break for you!"

"Hey!" Ash called before he could think of what to say. "Sandshrew hates water!"

"Not my Sandshrew," AJ said with a proud grin as Sandshrew curled up into a ball and allowed three Rattata to bounce it around. "Sandshrew's gotten so used to the water that it ain't hurtin' him anymore. You're lookin' at the only Sandshrew in the world that's strong enough to withstand water." Back to his Pokémon, he called, "Pick up the pace!"

"But...aren't you pushing your Pokémon a little too hard?" Ash asked, worried that they were getting hurt in training. "Why're you being tough on them?"

AJ shrugged. "It's the way I run things. I train Sandshrew the toughest because I got him as my first Pokémon when I was a kid. He and I are gonna get through a hundred wins so we can get tougher Pokémon and beat the Indigo League." He looked around at his Pokémon and said, "Thanks for the opinion, kid, but I train 'em the way I always do."

Ash merely nodded, though he still felt uncomfortable about this kind of training. It made him feel like AJ was being too hard on the Pokémon.

"By the way, what's that thing Sandshrew was wearing?" Daisy asked.

"A Macho Brace," AJ simply replied. "It speeds up Sandshrew's skills...but it kinda makes him slower to act. All right, fellas!" he called to his Pokémon. "You all earned a thirty-minute break!"

All of them cheered...and promptly plopped down, too tired to move. AJ handed them all some treats, and they started to chow down. It was like they had not eaten in hours, and it made Ash worry about them more. So he took the chance to approach them, shivering at the sight of the Beedrill's stingers. The memory of being chased by a Beedrill swarm was not to be forgotten.

"What do you guys think?" he asked the Pokémon. "Do you like the training you're getting right now?"

The group of Pokémon exchanged looks, the Rattata chattering amongst themselves. The Beedrill and the Butterfree buzzed to each other in their insect language before looking back at Ash. Finally, one of the Rattata started speaking, and Pikachu hopped onto Ash's shoulder, filling him in on the basic words.

"So...you're okay with it?" he asked, trying to translate Pikachu's words.

The three Rattata nodded at the same time. Same with Beedrill and Butterfree.

"Oh, okay," he said, but he was still uneasy about the situation. "Though I still feel kinda bad about it."

"Kid, be grateful I don't flat-out abuse them," AJ said with a snort. "Or abandon a Pokémon 'cause they lost a battle. If I did, why, I'd be a poor excuse of a trainer. Like I said, I may seem strict, but it's the way I run things." Then he said, "Oh, that reminds me. I battled this kid who pushed his team WAY hard, even harder than I ever did, but I beat him good. If you see him on the road, watch yer back."

_That sounds like Damien, _Ash thought with anger, remembering Charmander's former abusive trainer.

Suddenly, a cry of pain made Ash look around. Pikachu was curled up into a ball, but he was squeaking with pain, and AJ's Sandshrew was standing beside him. He was laughing at Pikachu instead of helping out.

"Pikachu!" Ash called, running over to his starter. He tried pulling Pikachu back up hard, saying, "Don't worry, Pikachu. I'll get you out!"

"Ash, calm down!" Misty called, running over to his side. "You're making it worse!"

Ash released Pikachu, and AJ stormed over, bending down to examine the mouse Pokémon. "Lift his head up a little. Not by the jaw!"

So Ash gently got Pikachu to lift his head up, gently holding his chin with his fingers. It was the same brace he had seen the Sandshrew wearing during their battle and the tough training.

"Now once I let this go, pull 'im away from me," AJ instructed, taking a hold of the Macho Brace. "Ready?"

Hoping to get Pikachu free quickly, Ash nodded. So AJ pressed the button in the middle of the brace, its tendrils releasing Pikachu, and Ash pulled his starter away from the contraption.

"There ya go," AJ said, straightening up, but he was glaring at Ash now. "Why weren't ya keepin' an eye on that Pikachu of yers? If ya had keep an eye on him, he wouldn't have gone messin' with my Sandshrew's Macho Brace!"

Ash felt as bad as usual whenever someone yelled at him. Behind him, Daisy looked like she wanted to jump in and snap back at him. Finally, Ash steeled his nerve and said, "I'm sorry, AJ. I was just distracted by the Pokémon here that I..."

AJ snorted. "Of course. That's what I'd hear from an autistic."

Just then, Daisy was at his side, snapping, "Don't use autism as an insult! It's ridiculous-"

Brock suddenly held a hand over her mouth, saying, "All right, Daisy, calm down. Ash has already stood up for himself." To AJ, he said, "She's right, though. Autism shouldn't be made as a joke."

"I wasn't meanin' anythin' bad like that," AJ argued back. "I actually met an autistic challenger a long while ago. He was a good battler, but he got pretty distracted with the moves his Pokémon could do, so I beat him easily. As for him," he added, pointing a finger at Ash, and Ash wished he wouldn't point, "make sure he don't get distracted in battle. Keep his mind focused."

Now that AJ had said that, Ash realized that this made sense. While he and his friends had been talking with AJ, Pikachu had nearly suffocated from being stuck in the Macho Brace. He looked down at his starter, who was stretching his muscles.

"I'm sorry, Pikachu," Ash told him, bending down. "I shouldn't have ignored you. Can you forgive me?"

"Pika Pika!" Pikachu said with a small smile, jumping onto Ash's arm with a smile.

Ash hugged Pikachu close to him.

Suddenly, Brock looked down at a watch he had worn on his wrist. "Looks like it'll be sundown soon. We gotta find a Pokémon center to spend the night at," he explained.

"Thanks for showing us your gym," Misty said. "I never really thought of having a gym like this."

AJ grinned. "My pleasure, ma'am," he said.

"And can you remember to be a little easier on the Pokémon here?" Ash blurted out. Seeing the surprised look on his friends' faces, he added, "You know, just a thought."

"I ain't promisin' anything, kid," AJ said, folding his arms. "But I'm gonna think about it. Take care now, ya hear?" Then he stuck out a hand and said, "I'll be seein' you at the Pokémon League after my 99th win."

Feeling a lot better now, Ash smiled and took the hand, shaking it. "I'll be waiting," he said.

"Pika!" Pikachu added.

So the others said their goodbyes, and Ash, Daisy, Misty, and Brock went on their way down the road. When they looked behind them, the scoreboard now had a 99 for home and still 0 for visitors.

Ash had learned that everyone had their own way of training. Some did it in a good and rewarding kind of way, others were very harsh and brutal, and others like AJ were strict but fair with their Pokémon. That was when Ash decided to try his own kind of training from now on. But he had to start somewhere.

**To be continued...**

**...**

**There we go. I hope you all like this chapter, and sorry again for the long wait. If there's anything wrong with this chapter, please let me know, and I'll fix it. I appreciate constructive criticism as long as you're polite about it.  
**

**I've wanted to change AJ's personality a bit from the anime. In the anime, he was very tough on his Pokémon, didn't seem to give them a lot of breaks, and used a lion(?) whip to get Sandshrew to fight or train. Here in this FanFic, he does care about his other Pokémon a bit and knows that he'll never be like...a certain character who might appear on this FanFic later. But he'll still be a jerk.**

**See ya next time!**


	20. The School Of Tough Learning

**Hey there, everyone, and welcome back to Journey Of An Autistic Trainer! I hadn't really updated in a while, but I can try. I finally got the Internet on my laptop working again, so I'll try to update sooner.**

**I got some news. My mom and I decided not to work with the publishing company that originally accepted our book, something about being paid upfront. We decided to go with Harper Collins, which distributed the Warrior Cat series. It's not gonna be the best book ever, but I just hope that people just like the book (not love, just like).**

**Uploading Date: November 2, 2016**

**Enjoy!**

**...**

_**The School Of Tough Learning**_

They were finally on their way to Vermillion City, which was a three-day trip by foot. Blue sky greeted them as they left Cerulean City, dotted with fluffy white clouds over their heads. Ash was fully prepared to train the next time they stopped for a break.

Thanks to AJ's advice, Ash decided to try and develop his own training techniques. He had decided to use all of his Pokémon so they could be sparring partners. Pikachu and Charmander were sparring, and Ash could recall AJ telling him about this trainer using the spinning move.

"Pikachu, spin around to deflect the Ember!" he called after Pikachu and Charmander unleashed their attacks. "Charmander, do the same with Pikachu's Thunderbolt!"

Pikachu got down on his back and started spinning around. He deflected some of the attack, but he was still hit, letting out a cry of surprise. Across from him, Charmander had gone through the same thing. He had also gotten electric jolts directed at him, deflecting some but getting some in return. Once they were done, they flipped back up to their feet, all pumped up.

"That's great, you guys!" Ash called. "But we'll have to try harder.

"Okay, that's enough training for now," Daisy called from the other side of the field as she recalled Beedrill and Magikarp. "Brock's just called us over for lunch."

"I'll be right there!" Ash called back. To his Pokémon, he said, "Come on, guys. Let's get something to eat."

His Pokémon cheered and followed him to where he and his friends had camped. There, his friends also had their Pokémon out, Onix acting as a rock wall in case someone tried to attack them. Brock was preparing something to drink, for the sandwiches were done, and Ash walked over to see what was going on.

"There's nothing as satisfying as a cup of one-hundred percent Cerulean coffee," Brock was explaining as Ash sat down beside Misty. Daisy sat next to Brock, sipping the titular drink. "I know you two are a bit too young for it for now, but I'm telling you, it's gotten good with some help from a shop in Lumiose."

"That came from Kalos, right?" Misty asked, her eyes bright. "I've always wanted to go to Kalos!"

"Kalos?" Ash piped up. "Isn't it where that tall tower is?"

Misty nodded. "Yep. It's called the Prism Tower. I heard it's really romantic to see it light up at night."

"And I also heard that Kalos has great Pokémon there," Daisy added, giving her Eevee an Oran berry to eat. "Like Fennekin and Greninja and a lot more!"

Ash looked up to the clouds, as if wondering what form those Pokémon Daisy had mentioned would take shape. "I'd like to go there one day," he said. "When I get older, that is."

"Now how about that herbal tea?" Misty asked, getting back onto the subject about lunch. "I heard it's really good."

"I'm not that much of a tea person," Ash admitted. "You got any grape juice?"

Brock nodded and reached into his bag for some while Misty told Ash, "Why not give some tea a try? It's good to try new things, after all."

Ash accepted a cup of grape juice from Brock and took a sip, noticing Pikachu jumping onto his lap. "I know," he said. "I'm just used to the tastes I know well."

"Besides, I didn't bring along my tea set this time," Brock said as he was finished with his bag. "I'll buy another one when we leave and cross the metaphorical river."

So they ate and drank until it was time to go. It would be around two or three days until they arrived at Vermillion City, and they had to cover some distance.

But when they walked a while longer, Ash looked to the side and saw something that caught his eye. He called "I'll be right back" before going through the bushes to the other side in a clearing. In that clearing, he saw that he wasn't alone.

There were a gang of boys surrounding a somewhat younger boy, all dressed in school clothing. The youngest boy was on a treadmill, panting as he tried his best to outpace the machine

"What's this Pokémon?" one of the boys demanded, holding up a picture.

"Is it...Zubat...?" the boy on the treadmill panted.

Another green-haired boy growled, "No, stupid Joe, it's a Pidgey! Just because it's foggy out here doesn't mean your brain has to be in a fog."

Ash felt his body freeze up, Pikachu being the only being to keep him up. He had never felt right about teachers being too strict to students. As his mother had told him, parents and teachers needed to be firm but fair to their children and students. But these kids were the opposite of what he was taught.

"Is it Pidgey?" the boy named Joe asked.

One older boy said, "Correct! Now what's its special attack?"

"Well...Pidgey learns Sand Attack at level 5...and Gust at level 9..." Joe panted as he got more tired.

"What level does Pidgey evolve, and what's its evolution?" another older boy demanded.

Joe tried to answer, but his legs finally gave way to tiredness. He slipped and fell onto his rear, being carried off of the treadmill and onto the ground. The other kids were on him like an angry flock of Spearow, yelling at him and shaking their fists at him. Ash felt very uncomfortable hearing the yelling and seeing the youngest being picked on; it reminded him too much of how Gary had picked on him at school.

"Hey, what's going on here?" Ash asked, walking over. "Why're you guys picking on him?"

"There's nothing going on here," one of the students snapped. "And mind your own business; this is a private study session. We're training him so we can maintain our standards?"

"What do treadmills have to do with studying?" Ash pondered, sharing a confused look with Pikachu.

The bushes rustled behind Ash, and he looked around. Daisy was coming over to him, Misty and Brock behind her

"This isn't the Ice Age," growled one of the boys. "And we won't spoil the reputation of Pokémon Tech by fighting heathens."

So they walked off, giving Joe a look over their shoulders. Joe seemed to get the message and started running off after them.

"So those are the infamous Tech Students," Brock remarked as they watched the boys go.

"Tech Students?" Ash asked curiously, confused at this "Tech" stuff.

Misty answered this time. "Pokémon Tech. I think it's short for Pokémon Technical, a school for trainers." She dug into her bag, muttering, "I know I have a flyer in here somewhere."

"I know that place," Daisy spoke up before Misty could pull something out. "I remember its motto saying 'Pokémon Technical Institute, a boarding school for serious Pokémon trainer presentation."

Unknowingly to the humans, Pikachu looked over at the treadmill and gave it a nudge. He wanted to try it out, so he leaped high to jam his paw against as many buttons as he could. So he started running on it at first on two legs and then four as it got a bit faster.

"You know what this means, right?" Misty asked the two older teens. "This is Ash's first time hearing it, but it's a snobby private school only millionare kids can get in."

"That kinda grinds my gears. I never really liked those kinds of snobs," said Daisy with a huff.

She had slammed her fist down on the treadmill, setting the speed up a little higher. Pikachu had to deal with it on four legs, trying to keep up the pace.

"I got a flyer too," Brock said, pulling one out of his pocket. He unfolded it and explained, "It says 'All students guarenteed to enter into the Indigo League upon graduation, Pokémon Technical is the educational facility for exceptional students who want to become Pokémon trainers in a very short time without having to travel on difficult badge-collecting journeys.'"

Ash frowned at this. "But where's the fun in that? Where would the badge-collecting fun be?" He looked around in time to see Pikachu running on the treadmill, calling, "Off, Pikachu!"

The mouse Pokémon obeyed, falling down and panting, all tuckered out. As he had remembered seeing his mother use one in the Viridian City exercise gym, he turned off the button.

"So it IS a snob school?" Misty remarked, loud enough for the boys up front to hear. "I wanna see it for real."

So Ash picked up a tired Pikachu, and they hurried off after Joe, who was still trailing after the other boys. Up ahead was a huge school that looked like a huge metal laboratory than the school Ash had gone to. From the school called a megaphone, announcing, "Today's studies of Flying-type Pokémon and moves is over. Tomorrow will be Ice-types."

"Yeah, you better get studying," sneered one of the boys up front. "Otherwise we'll turn you into a snowman again."

They left, and Joe was left behind, sighing.

"Do they always treat you like that?" Daisy asked Joe as they caught up to him. Misty was glaring to the side at where the boys had walked off.

The boy spun around and gulped. "N-Not always," he said. "But you just saw them in their bad mood. They're my friends, and they help me study." The travelers looked surprised, so he explained, "They helped me learn a lot about Pidgey, like how it evolves into Pidgeotto and then into Pidgeot. They even told me that Pidgeot can Mega Evolve! Well, whatever it is anyway."

_There's that "Mega Evolve" thing again, _Ash thought. The last time he had heard it, it was from Seymore, the scientist at Mount Moon who gave Misty and Brock their fossils. He had been curious to know what it was, and here was the answer so far. At least he got a Pokémon who could Mega Evolve one day.

"There's something I didn't really get. If you know everything about Pidgey, how come you didn't answer?" Ash asked Joe. But as soon as he said it, he felt like he had gotten stupid. He had done it at school before, hadn't he?

"I only pretend to not know the answers so that I can answer harder questions," Joe replied as he led the way. "I'm trying to stay in Poké Tech because my parents saved a lot of money to bring me here. One of my friends is in an upper class family, but he's a beginner like me because we're pretty scared of repeating classes."

That perked Ash up at the thought of being around another friendly beginner. "So you're a beginner?"

Joe nodded. "Yep. We have the same qualifications as someone with two few badges. Intermidiate classes have the qualifications of four badges, and Advanced has the same as six. If you graduate, you can compete in the Indigo League without even getting badges."

"What do the teachers say about that kind of help?" Daisy spoke up.

"They don't know about it," Joe replied, a somber look on his face. "Or if they do, they pretend not to."

So he said, "Teachers shouldn't do that. Can we talk to the teacher in charge of this place about it?"

"They should," Misty told him with a frown. "Come on, let's go."

She and Joe led the way over to the school. Around them were students mainly studying either alone or in pairs and groups. Pokémon were there too, joining trainers or practicing their moves and skills. Ash had remembered that his old school did not allow any Pokémon except for class pets, seeing how one teacher had a Pidgey.

**...**

Once they got into the building, they came across a room on the upper floor of the building. It looked more like an arcade game room than a classroom, students studying from the computers. If this was a new kind of Pokémon training, it was something Ash had never really heard of before.

"So this is where you learn to battle, huh?" Brock remarked. "I thought there'd be something like a gym."

"Oh, we don't use the gym for battles," said Joe, now looking as superior as the boys who had picked on him. "We use these simulation machines. Because of that, we can proudly say that Grass-types can always be superior to Water-type moves." He sat down near one computer and said, "Take a look."

All of them leaned over to see the simulation battle. Ash saw the battle end rather quickly when he saw a Starmie on the screen wiped out by a Grass-type's Razor Leaf. It reminded him of the games he and Gary used to play together when they were younger kids.

"See?" Joe said with a self-important grin. "It always works."

"Okay, computers are one thing, but computers that decide Pokémon battles?" Misty said with a very confused look. That was replaced by a firm glare as she said, "I want some proof that Water-types are easily beatable! How about we battle for real?"

Joe smirked. "Fine, but don't blame me if my Pokémon wipe yours out. Go, Weepinbell and Geodude!"

He threw out two Pokéballs, and out came a Geodude and a medium-sized flower Pokémon. It was yellow with a big gaping mouth and two leaves on its sides. Ash pulled out his Pokédex and scanned it as it read, _"Weepinbell is the Flycatcher Pokémon. Weepinbell has a large hook on its rear end. At night, it hooks on to a tree branch and goes to sleep. If it moves around in its sleep, it may wake up to find itself on the ground."_

Misty snorted and tossed out a PokéBall, releasing Starmie. As soon as this happened, Daisy called "Don't forget me!" and tossed out a PokéBall too, sending out Eevee.

"I believe my Pokémon are superior because of their types," Joe bragged. "Geodude, Mega Punch! Weepinbell, Razor Leaf!"

"Dodge!" both girls called, Daisy adding in, "Eevee, give Starmie a Helping Hand!"

At their commands, Eevee dodged Geodude's fist, and Starmie Weepinbell's leaves. Once they were out of the way, Eevee gave Starmie a friendly tail flick to one of its appendages. The mysterious Pokémon spun its front appendages around in appreciation.

"Eevee, Iron Tail!" Daisy called.

"Starmie, Swift!" Misty commanded.

Eevee darted toward Geodude, her tail glowing silver, as she turned and slammed it into the rock Pokémon. Starmie summoned little stars to hurl at Weepinbell, causing the flycatcher Pokémon to flinch and cover its face with its leaves. Then Starmie fired a powerful Water Pulse, catching both Weepinbell and Geodude and making them crash into the wall.

"And that's how we do it in our gang," Daisy cheered.

"I...I don't get it!" Joe exclaimed as he recalled Geodude and Weepinbell. "Rock types are strong against Normal, and so is Grass against Water!"

"True, but there's one thing you don't know."

Everyone looked around at the sound of the new voice. In came a young teenage girl, very pretty to look at and yet having a self-important air around her. She had the usual girl's school uniform on, long brown hair, and haughty brown eyes. _This is probably the girl in charge here, _Ash thought.

The new girl strolled up to Joe, the haughty look clear on her face. "I've heard of Misty. She is the Cerulean Gym leader, and she has had more experience. And the girl she fought alongside with has also used speed; strength is _not _everything." She continued, her voice taking on a sneer, "And you _really _didn't know that Pokémon can use different kinds of moves to turn the battle in their favor? You really should've learned that. You're such an embarrassment to the school."

"But...Giselle..." Joe tried to say, only to stop out of shame.

Giselle ignored him and walked over to the four travelers. Brock muttered, "Well, I'll admit, she's really pretty. She looks like a movie star."

Misty gave him a nudge with her elbow, muttered, "You wanna see stars? I'll give you stars with Starmie if you keep that hobby up."

Daisy took the chance to say, "We just stopped by to see what this Poké Tech does. Are you Giselle?"

"The one and only," the girl said, flipping her hair back. "I'm the top student in the beginning class of the most expensive prep school in the Kanto region, Pokémon Tech. It's sad to see that the others aren't blessed by my beauty, my talent, and my humility," she added with an arrogant flair.

On Ash's shoulder, Pikachu made a mock gagging sound. Brock frowned as he said, "Aaaand the good feeling's gone."

But Giselle wasn't finished just yet. She continued, "People may call me a star, but I'm just Giselle! I want to continue to help my classmates be the very best like no one ever was. To teach each other, respect each other, and ensure the Pokémon of tomorrow..." But then she rounded at Joe, screeching, "BUT YOU'RE A WEALKING!"

"I-I'm sorry," Joe stammered, stepping back. "I'm trying my best, and-"

"You better be getting better," Giselle scolded harshly. "Or before you know it, your fellow students will turn their backs on you for good!"

Ash was not the one being yelled at, but it still made him feel numb. But before he could say something, Misty stormed over to Giselle and gave her a rather hard push.

"Hey, wait a minute!" the Cerulean gym leader snapped. "What kind of friend are _you _to walk away from a friend in need? You may be pretty to look at, but you remind me on how beauty is only skin-deep."

Giselle glared at her, but she did not shove Misty back. Instead, she gave her a simpering sneer and a rather annoying giggle. "Jealousy isn't very pretty either, is it?"

Daisy now stepped forward. "Neither is that annoying giggle."

This made Giselle glare at the Pallet teen. "Oh, so _you're _the wise one now, are you? Well, no matter. We'll settle this and see who the better trainer is." She grabbed a PokéBall and sent out a large Geodude-like Pokémon made of rock, which let out a roar.

Curious, Ash pulled out his Pokédex to see what it was. It read, _"Graveler is the Rock Pokémon, and it evolves from Geodude. Graveler grows by feeding on rocks. Apparently, it prefers to eat rocks that are covered in moss. This Pokémon eats its way through a ton of rocks on a daily basis."_

He looked around at Brock and asked, "Shouldn't we do something?"

"Wise Pokémon trainers never get involved in a cat-fight," was Brock's reply.

Daisy frowned and remarked, "I heard that. Hey Misty," she said, turning to the red-headed teen. "Why don't we show her some manners?"

"I'll take over this time, Daisy. These types of people really tick me off," Misty told said teen. She looked over at her Pokémon and asked, "You still ready to make a splash, Starmie?"

Starmie lit up its gem in response.

"Good luck with that," Giselle said in a mocking tone. "I've trained my Graveler since it was an egg, letting it learn the right moves, a perfect counter for Water and Grass types."

Misty had a scowl on her face as she began the battle. "Starmie, Water Pulse!" she commanded as Starmie fired a powerful blast of water.

"Graveler, Double Team!" Giselle called.

Suddenly, before Stamie's attack could land, copies of Graveler popped out in front of it. Starmie was now surrounded by ten copies of Graveler, its gem flashing and indicating worry.

"Starmie, Swift on every Graveler!" Misty yelled.

So Starmie did so and summoned more stars, hurling them at these "clones". The stars hit many of the Graveler copies, causing them to disappear

"Now Thunder Punch!" Giselle commanded.

Electricity crackled from the smoke of the copies, and Graveler swung its electrified fist hard at Starmie's gem. The Mysterious Pokémon did not make a sound as it was thrown back by Graveler's power and crashed through the window. Shocked, Ash ran to the window to see what was going on, and a door hitting the wall told him that Misty had rushed outside to check on Starmie.

So he and the others made their way outside, to a pool just outside the school building. Misty was hauling an exhausted Starmie out of the water, asking if it was all right. Just as it couldn't get worse, Giselle sauntered over with a satisfied smirk.

"We're at the swimming pool now," she taunted. "You sure you don't want to send out another Water-type?"

"What next?" Misty retorted. "A Rapidash using Solar Beam?"

Giselle snickered. "Pokémon are only as strong as the trainer who raises them right," she explained. "Those that are weaker but better trained can still win. Joe, I hope you're learning something new right now."

"Excuse me," Ash called out, hoping that he sounded brave enough. He was not sure how long he had to hear her talk, but it was a lot for his brain to take in at the moment. "But I think there's more to training than just using levels."

Giselle looked around at him, raising an eyebrow. "And who are you?" she asked.

Ash cleared his throat and replied, "I'm Ash Ketchum from Pallet Town. And I got two badges already!"

"So you're a beginner?" Giselle remarked, giggling as if he was an ant she was ready to crush. "How long have you been a Pokémon trainer?"

"Two months," Ash recalled. In his mind, he was still amazed at how far he had gotten already.

Giselle gasped in mock horror. "Two whole months? And you still let that Pikachu walk out of its PokéBall?" she asked in a disbelieving tone. "Have you not really tamed it?"

Ash felt a bit offended at this. What was wrong with keeping Pikachu out of his PokéBall if Pikachu hated it in there?

"No," Daisy spoke up now, keeping Misty from charging at Giselle. "Ash is autistic, and Professor Oak gave him Pikachu as a therapy Pokémon. He lets Pikachu out because Pikachu hates being in PokéBalls."

"It's true," Ash agreed with Daisy. "Pikachu's different from Pidgeotto, Caterpie, Nidoran, Bulbasaur, and Charmander."

"Really?" Giselle asked, and now she had taken on a tone like she was talking to a toddler, something Ash hated. "Now that's cute. You've done a good job at that already! And did you know that Pikachu should've been brought to level 25 by now on this trip, and with a Thunder Stone, they evolve into the two-foot-tall Raichu?" Then she gasped again as she continued, "And didn't you know that Pikachu can be stronger if it evolved? Keeping it as a pet can be cute for little kids like you."

Ash felt his fist shaking with anger. Giselle was really treating him as if he was stupid. At least AJ, despite being gruff, never talked down to him like that. He wanted to be respected by non-autistic trainers, and he wanted to be the example, not the exception.

"Ash, let me battle her," Daisy growled, stepping out in front of Ash. "Your mom will never forgive me if..."

But she caught Brock's eye and seemed to realize something; Ash was sure he saw the look on her face. So Daisy backed off, but she and Misty kept their glares on Giselle.

"It's okay, Daisy. I can do this," Ash told her. Facing Giselle, she said, "I'm not gonna stand here and let you insult me or my team. Do you wanna battle me and see if I'm good or not?"

Giselle looked surprised. Ash supposed that she had never had someone talk this boldly in spite of being angry. But then she smirked and said, "All right then. Watch and learn." She tossed out a PokéBall and called, "Cubone, let's teach them a lesson!"

Out came a small brown Pokémon the size of Pikachu. It carried a bone in one hand, and the strangest thing about it was its head. It was wearing a skull over its head, only its eyes visible.

_"Cubone is the Lonely Pokémon. Cubone pines for the mother it will never see again. Seeing a likeliness of its mother in the full moon, it cries. The stains on the skull Cubone wears are made by the tears it sheds."_

_Kinda like something bad ever happened to _my _mom, _Ash thought with sadness. He took out a PokéBall and threw it out, calling, "Charmander, I choose you!"

Charmander emerged from the ball, growling as sparkles flew around its golden body. The students gasped and pointed at Charmander, who waved its flame tail toward them as a warning.

"A shiny Charmander?" Giselle gasped, this time looking genuinely surprised. Then she looked mocking again as she remarked, "I bet a trainer gave it to you because they felt sorry for you. Am I right?" Her girl posse giggled with her, and she called, "Cubone, Leer!"

Ash felt his fist shake, but he kept his anger down as he tried to relax as Brock had taught him. As Cubone walked over with narrowed eyes, he said, "Charmander, Leer back at it!"

Charmander walked over to Cubone and parked himself in front of it. Then he drew a deep breath and gave Cubone a powerful scowl.

"Cubone, give it a Bone Club!" Giselle commanded.

So Cubone lifted its bone and bonked Charmander on top of his head. The lizard Pokémon stumbled back, trying to rub his head to get rid of the pain.

"Hey, why'd Cubone throw his bone at Charmander?" Ash asked, kneeling beside Charmander. "Isn't that cheating?"

Giselle scoffed. "Of course _you _wouldn't understand. Bone Club is one of Cubone's bone-based moves; it can use the bone as a natural weapon."

Ash felt like he was now at a disadvantage. He could let Charmander use Ember to attack from a distance, but he could not afford for his Pokémon to get clonked on the head again. If he could find a way to deflect it without Charmander breaking a claw against the bone, then...it suddenly hit him.

"Give up?" Giselle scoffed. "Cubone, Bonemerang again!"

Cubone hurled its bone at Charmander this time, the bone acting much like a boomerang. Prepared just in time for that, Ash called, "Charmander, Counter Shield!"

Giselle stared at him with surprise before giving a haughty giggle. "Counter Shield?" she repeated. "That's not even a real move."

But her giggle turned into a gasp as Charmander got down onto its back and spewed out embers from his mouth, creating a moving wall of embers. To Ash's surprise, the spinning actually worked. The swirling flames hit the bone and sent it flying back at Cubone, who winced as the bone smacked against its skull. It shook its head, trying to get back into focus.

"Charmander, finish it with Ember!" Ash commanded.

So Charmander took a deep breath and fired out as much embers as he could. Cubone stumbled back from the attack and fell on its rump. Then to Ash's surprise, the Lonely Pokémon started crying, tears leaking from the eye sockets in its skull helmet.

"Cubone is unable to battle! Charmander wins!" the school girl called. "So the winner is Ash Ketchum from Pallet Town."

Ash felt sad for Cubone, but he was also afraid of retaliation. He braced himself for Giselle to lash out at him, calling him names or even worse. Instead, she looked peaceful as she kneeled down beside the crying Cubone and gave it a gentle cuddle.

"Cubone, don't cry. You did good, so you deserve a very good rest," Giselle said as she recalled Cubone. To Ash, she said, "Looks like I underestimated you. In spite of being a beginner, you really showed me some unusual skills. There are some thing you can't just learn in school. And you've really taught me a good lesson today."

"Thanks," said Ash. "You and Cubone did great."

Giselle smiled again, and this time, it was heartwarming. "I'm sorry for doubting your worth as a trainer. I guess autistic trainers really can make it out there."

Ash was happy that the bad feelings toward each other were a thing in the past. He recalled Charmander, saying "You did great out there, so take a good rest", before stepping back to his friends. But as he did so, Joe was the one to step forward this time.

"I've decided to go home and start from scratch with my first Pokémon," he declared. "Just like Ash and other trainers have done...hey Giselle, maybe we can meet again in the Indigo League."

Now the smile Giselle had for Joe was genuine instead of mocking. She said, "I hope so too. Then maybe I can wipe the floor with you if we do. And I'm sorry I've been tough on you."

Joe gave her a smile of his own. "It's fine. I've learned that even though friends or family can be tough at times, they want to help. Like you."

"That's a good lesson to learn too," Brock remarked happily. "But hey, we need to get going. It's gonna get dark soon, and we don't need any Zubat in our hair."

"Then safe travels," Giselle said. "Hope to see you at the Indigo League...Ash, was it?"

"Yeah, see you there," Ash said. In his mind, he added, _If I ever get there one day..._

After trading farewells, the four travelers went on their way.

**To be continued...**

**...**

**There we go, folks, and I hope you enjoyed this chapter. If you see anything wrong in this chapter, let me know, and I'll fix it. I appreciate constructive criticism as long as you're polite about it.**

**This chapter involves a few shout-outs. First, I changed it from "School of Hard Knocks" to "School of Tough Learning". That can be true of private schools. It's also a shout-out to Twilight from Guardians Of Ga'Hoole, where he's gone through the "Orphan School Of Tough Learning". That is, he taught himself about the world. And finally, the line of "being the example, not the exception" is a reference to Paladin Danse from Fallout 4.**

**Ash: Pikachu (Quick Attack, Double Team, Electro Ball, Thunderbolt), Pidgeotto (Wing Attack, Gust, Sand Attack, Quick Attack), Butterfree (String Shot, Confusion, Gust, Tackle), Nidoran (Poison Sting, Double Kick, Horn Attack, Leer), Bulbasaur (Leech Seed, Poison Powder, Tackle, Vine Whip), Charmander (Scratch, Metal Claw, Ember, Smokescreen)  
At Professor Oak's: Squirtle (Water Gun, Withdraw, Rapid Spin, Tackle)**

**Daisy: Eevee (Tackle, Iron Tail, Helping Hand, Tail Whip), Beedrill (Poison Sting, Agility, String Shot, Pin Missile), Magikarp (Splash)**

**Misty: Staryu (Rapid Spin, Water Gun, Harden), Starmie (Swift, Water Pulse, Recover, Rapid Spin), Goldeen (Splash, Water Gun, Horn Attack, Tail Whip)**

**Brock: Geodude (Rock Throw, Rock Polish, Tackle, Defense Curl), Onix (Rock Tomb, Rock Polish, Tackle, Bind), Zubat (Leech Life, Supersonic, Bite, Wing Attack)**

**See ya next time!**


	21. Electric Showdown (part 1)

**Hey there, everyone, and welcome back to Journey Of An Autistic Trainer! I'm really sorry for the confusion my latest chapter had caused, what with the author's note and the excuses I made and the thinking and the pain in the glaven (okay, the last one was a joke). So from now on, no more author's note chapters anymore.**

**Last chapter was a filler episode. Canada Cowboy told me about it, and the more I look at it, the more I saw that he was right. Well, this one won't be a filler chapter...or, at least, I'll try and make sure this doesn't become a filler chapter.**

**Uploading Date: November 6, 2016**

**Enjoy!**

**...**

_**Electric Showdown (part 1)**_

It was sunset by the time Ash and his friends came to Vermillion City. It had been three days since they left the Poké Tech school, and they had trained and chatted along the way. Now that they reached the city by the bay, they knew that it was all worth it.

As they walked into the city, whose buildings were not as large as Viridian or Cerulean, they saw that they were near the bay already. The Pokémon Center was across from it, and Magikarp occasionally jumped out of the water, flopping around. Fishermen sat at the water's edge, drawing out their lines and catching a bite. A loud horn blasted from somewhere else in the bay, but the source was still a bit too far to tell what it was.

"Finally, we're here!" Misty sighed as they sat down on benches to relax their aching feet. "I can't wait to get a bath to get all this stink off."

"Same here," Daisy replied. "Plus, I wouldn't want Magikarp to disappear like when we went swimming yesterday."

Brock spoke up next, saying, "If anyone's got dirty clothes, hand them to me, and I'll wash them tonight. What about you, Ash?" he asked, turning to the Pallet Town trainer. "What're you gonna do?"

"I really wanna check out the gym," Ash said. He patted Pikachu, who was resting on his shoulder and looking tired, and said, "But I wanna get Pikachu and the other Pokémon rested first."

Pikachu gave a grateful sigh, and both girls turned around. "Good idea, Ash," Misty told him. "I think the gym's closed for the night anyway."

So they turned around and headed to the Pokémon Center. They were just about to head in when a girl came rushing past them with a wounded Rattata in her arms. The four travelers gave each other confused looks and went inside to get rested for the night.

But when they came in and looked around, they got quite the surprise. There were injured Pokémon in beds, all too weak to move. A Pidgey was twitching as if a Thunderbolt had struck it, and a few Rattata had casts on their legs. There was even an Ekans with a cast around its neck, coughing as if something had punched it in its throat.

Ash felt terrible when he saw the injured Pokémon lying on the hospital beds. He was not sure what did it, but it had to have been something bad to do this kind of damage.

"What happened?" Daisy asked, staring around in shock.

"Lt. Surge, the gym leader in this city," Nurse Joy said with a worried look, heading over to an injured Clefairy and handing it some bandages. As she dressed the wound on its leg, she went on, "This is the fifteenth one this month that's needed to come to the emergency room. I've kept telling him that he, his Pokémon, and the trainers' Pokémon need their rest, but he's just too stubborn!"

Ash tilted his head to the side. "He doesn't really sound nice," he remarked. "I can beat him for the badge and the Pokémon here in the center if you'd like."

"But I've heard that Lt. Surge's electric Pokémon are tough," Daisy reminded Ash before Nurse Joy could answer. "You've got three Pokémon who're weak against Electric-type attacks. And you've got Bulbasaur."

"That reminds me," Ash said. He walked over to Nurse Joy and said, "Nurse Joy, we need our Pokémon healed, please. It's travel injuries."

Nurse Joy managed a smile despite her worry. "Bring your Pokémon over to the front desk while I finish dressing Clefairy's wound," she said. "I'm never too tired to heal anyone's Pokémon. And meanwhile, feel free to lodge here for the night and use the video phone."

_Oh yeah, I forgot! _Ash thought. He walked over to the front desk, dropped off Pikachu and the rest of his team, and headed over to the phone. Behind him, Brock was saying, "Hey, I was wondering if you can take a break with me after this is all done."

"I already took a break a few minutes ago, but thanks," Nurse Joy replied, resulting in Brock sighing dejectedly.

Once Ash was at the video phone, he dialed his mother's phone number and waited. The screen turned on, and there was Delia, at the phone already with the receiver to her ear. Ash noticed that she was not at home this time, due to the spaciousness of the room Delia was in. She was probably at Professor Oak's laboratory.

"Hey Mom," Ash said with a smile.

"Hey, honey," Delia said with a smile. "You made it to Vermillion City! How is it so far?"

Ash looked around to see his friends dropping off their Pokémon with Nurse Joy. He looked back around at his mother and said, "It's good so far. I can't wait to get to the gym tomorrow morning."

Delia replied, "Well, I'm glad to see you and your friends safe and sound. I better get back to the house. Love you, Ash." She took the phone from her ear and handed it to someone off the screen, saying, "Professor Oak wants to talk to you."

So she _was _at Professor Oak's lab. It had been a while since Ash had spoken with Professor Oak, the last time being at Pewter City. So it made him feel good when the professor showed up with a bowl of ramen noodles. He called "Love you too, Mom!" before Professor Oak took the receiver.

"Hello, Ash," he said. "I've heard from your mother that you've got two badges with six or seven Pokémon already. That's wonderful news, and you'll catch up to Gary in no time!"

"Thanks, Professor," Ash told him with a grateful smile.

"Gary _would _be on his way to Celadon City," the professor added with a stern look, "if he hadn't done what he did. I had my assistant bring him back home, and he'll be back on the road-"

"KETCHUM!"

Ash flinched from the loud voice as Gary Oak pushed Professor Oak out of the way, glaring angrily at the screen. Ash looked away as his rival growled at him, growling, "It's because of you that I'm stuck back here! Now I can't leave for another week, and it's all your fault!"

"Gary Oak, you know full well why you're there!" Daisy had come to stand beside Ash, speaking into the speaker end of the phone. "You insulted his condition, and you made your Wartortle attack him! This teasing of yours has to stop!"

"Daisy!" This time, it was Ash's turn to lay a hand on her shoulder. "Let me handle this. I gotta stand up for myself."

She still had worry written on her face as she handed him the phone. Brock laid a hand on her shoulder and gave her a meaningful look.

"Gary, I don't know why you hate me now," Ash said as he faced his rival, "but you and I were friends. I did nothing bad to you, and you threw me aside. Was it because of my autism? If so, then I am what I am because I was born this way. And if you don't like it, I can battle you to prove I can be as good as you."

At first, Gary did not speak. Instead, he seemed to look down to the floor, an uneasy expression on his face. Ash wondered if his former friend was thinking over his treatment of him. Even a tiny bit of him hoped that Gary would actually listen to him.

But the look didn't last long. Instead, Gary snarled, "You better prepare yourself for when we meet again, Ketchum, and you better watch your back! I'll send you home like you did to me!"

He dropped the phone and stormed away. Ash felt sad that the attempt to reconcile with Gary did not go well. Misty muttered "Arrogant jerk" as she watched Gary leave the screen.

"He'll turn around, Ash," Professor Oak told him, getting the phone back. "Remember that Pikachu is not only your Pokémon but a therapist in a sort of way. Pokémon can teach people in many ways you can't imagine."

"Yeah, he and the others are teaching me to be brave," Ash said, patting Pikachu on the head. "Can I withdraw Squirtle after I get my next badge. I don't want to get Squirtle hurt by Electric-type attacks."

Professor Oak nodded. "Of course. I say that he's been enjoying the water around here. And speaking of water, I have to go make sure he doesn't mess up the Poliwag's lily pads. He's still quite a troublemaker despite not being with the Squirtle Squad," he added with a chuckle. "Good-night, and good luck tomorrow!"

And with this, the phone screen turned blank. That was when the tune announcing that the travelers' Pokémon had gotten healed, and Ash, Daisy, Misty, and Brock came to collect them.

_We'll win this tomorrow, _Ash told Pikachu quietly as they headed to the cafeteria for dinner. _We'll get our third badge, and we can help all those Pokémon!_

...

The next day, everyone was ready to get the day started. Ash had decided to get to the gym once everyone was finished with breakfast and their morning showers. They had also decided with Misty that they could go visit the S.S. Anne, the huge ship that had made the loud horn noise the day before. With spirits high and minds determined, the travelers set out down the street until they came to the gym.

It was a garish, brightly colored gym with lightning bolts painted on the sides and back. But for some odd reason, the gym was not facing the street as it usually did. Instead, it was facing the bay, the only path being blocked by a tree. It was a sapling tree, not a huge tree but one that was wide enough to block one person's path. So Daisy tossed out a Poké Ball to release Beedrill, which buzzed as soon as it emerged from its ball.

"Beedrill, use Cut to take that tree down!" Daisy called.

Beedrill buzzed and brandished its stingers, ready to get into action. It darted over to the tree and slashed and jabbed at it, the stingers going painfully deep into the bark. With one final swipe, Beedrill cut the tree down and watched it tumble into the water with a splash.

"Thanks, Beedril. Rest for a while," Daisy said, recalling the poison bee Pokémon.

Brock spoke up now, "We better go in a single file line. There's no need to be swimming with the Magikarp." Then he asked Daisy, "Daisy, how about you lead? You got that tree down."

Daisy smiled. "Sure. Everyone line up!"

She went ahead first and was followed by Brock. Ash went between Brock and Misty so that either one could grab him and pull him to safety if he slipped. He saw something blue with a red-jeweled head poke out of the water and wanted to see what it was. But he could not pull out his PokéDex now, not now that they were trying to avoid getting wet. Besides, his PokéDex could get wet and ruined.

They inched their way until they were finally on the spot of land where the gym entrance way. But as soon as they arrived at the entrance of the gym, two Pikachu suddenly darted over. Like Ash's Pikachu, they looked cute and cuddly, but they had the short temper of an alley Meowth.

"Stop right there, runt," growled a voice as soon as the door opened. Out came two trainer, a man and a woman recalling both Pikachu into Poké Balls, as the former demanded, "Who are you, and why're you skulking around the boss's gym?"

Ash felt a little intimidated by their size; their muscle size indicated that they must have really worked out. But he cleared his throat and said, "I'm here to challenge Lt. Surge to a battle for my next badge."

The two trainers continued leering at him, making Ash feel uncomfortable. Then the woman turned away and called, "Hey Boss! You got another victim for the hospital!"

"Which one is it?" growled another man, storming over to them. He was huge and tan with bulging muscles, wearing a camo shirt and pants along with combo boots. He spotted Daisy and Misty and gave them a leer, remarking, "Looks like I got some cute challengers. But I ain't gonna be easy on you, you hear me?"

"Actually...my friend Ash here," Daisy said as she gently nudged Ash over to him, "is the one who wants to battle."

Lt. Surge grunted in disbelief as he glared down at Ash. He wanted to tell the gym leader that he had hurt a lot of Pokémon more than was necessary, but he could not find it within him to say it out loud.

"Aww, what's wrong?" Lt. Surge sneered as he stepped even closer. "Is the weak little baby scared of me?"

That made Ash feel upset at being called this. "I-I'm not a baby!" he retorted, but he was aware of how it sounded like a squeak.

Lt. Surge snickered. "Don't take it personally, kid. I call all the people who lost against me or _will _lose against me a baby." He noticed Pikachu on Ash's shoulder, sneering, "And what's this? A baby Pokémon? Son, let me show you a grown-up Pokémon."

His assistants snickered as Lt. Surge tossed out a Poké Ball. Out of the ball came a mouse-like Pokémon that looked nearly like Pikachu. It was taller, though, and orange with long brown-tipped back feet. It had a white belly, and its ears were more spiked. But the strangest thing about it was its black tail, which was really long and thin with a lightning bolt at the end.

Ash took out his Pokédex and scanned the new Pokémon. It read, _"Raichu is the Mouse Pokémon, and it evolves from Pikachu. If its electrical sacs become excessively charged, Raichu plants its tail in the ground and discharges. Scorched patches of ground will be found near its nest."_

"Wow...Pikachu evolves into _that_?" Ash asked, pointing at Raichu.

On his shoulder, Pikachu tried waving a friendly hello to Raichu. The bigger Pokémon merely made a rude gesture with its paw, which made Pikachu look shocked and then furious.

"Yep," Lt. Surge boasted, patting Raichu heartily on the head. "A Pokémon's only useful once it knows all the moves it can possibly know. As for you, you little baby," he added, leaning in close in a jeering way, "you should've evolved that rat as soon as you got him."

"I'm not scared of you," Ash told Lt. Surge. The insults toward Pikachu made him feel upset, but he could not back down now. "And Pikachu's fine the way he is."

Lt. Surge stared down at him in mild surprise, and then he laughed as he recalled Raichu to its PokéBall. "Those are big words for a baby," he sneered. "The rat's gonna be even more useless if you keep him unevolved. Now come on."

He walked back into the building, with Ash and his friends behind him. Ash was aware of the two large trainers leering at him and the others as they walked past them. They were like personal guards for Lt. Surge than the usual trainers sticking around at the gym.

Soon, they had arrived at the unusually small arena. It did had a high roof with a skylight, but Ash still felt unused to such a small gym. When he looked back down, Lt. Surge was already marching over to the other side of the arena with a smirk on his face.

"This will be a three-on-three battle between the gym leader, Lt. Surge, and the challenger, Ash Ketchum from Pallet Town," the referee called. "The challenger is allowed to substitute his Pokémon. The one who has all three of their Pokémon faint loses!"

Lt. Surge chuckled. "Fine by me, though I've never lost in three weeks," he responded. He sent out a Poké Ball, calling, "Voltorb, atten HUT!"

The Poké Ball opened up to reveal...another Poké Ball. But this one was alive, with glaring eyes and muttering "Volt. Voltorb." Ash took out his PokéDex and scanned it as it read, "_Voltorb is the Ball Pokémon. Voltorb was first sighted at a company that manufactures Poké Balls. The link between that sighting and the fact that this Pokémon looks very similar to a Poké Ball remains a mystery. It is also extremely sensitive; it will explode at the slightest of shocks."_

"It looks pretty cool," Ash exclaimed with a smile. He took out a Poké Ball and tossed it out, calling, "Nidoran, I choose you!"

Out came Nidoran, pawing the ground and shaking his horn at Voltorb. It had been a while since he had been in an actual battle instead of just battling wild Pokémon.

"Nidoran, Poison Sting!" Ash called as the battle began.

"Voltorb, shock 'em with Shock Wave!" Lt. Surge growled.

Nidoran lowered his horn and charged at Voltorb. In retaliation, the Poké Ball-like Pokémon shivered and sent out a large wave of electricity at Nidoran. The wave caught Nidoran and forced him back, making him squeal in pain as he was shoved back. Voltorb shivered and was ready for another round.

"Dodge it once it attacks!" Ash commanded.

From the other side of the arena, Lt. Surge merely chortled. "Good luck dodgin' that!" he mocked. "Shock Wave doesn't miss!"

Just as Lt. Surge had said, the wave came back around and shocked Nidoran again. Still, there was no getting Nidoran down easily, as he was back up on his feet, pawing the ground.

"Poison Sting again!" Ash called.

Nidoran repeated the charge while Voltorb rested from using its electric attacks. He jumped and jabbed his horn at the white part on its body, knocking his opponent backward. Voltorb spun back and faced the Poison Pin Pokémon, only to wince as it got poisoned from the attack.

"Get through that poison, soldier!" Lt. Surge barked. "Screech!"

Voltorb vibrated, and a horrible screech emitted from its rounded body. It stung Ash's ears so bad that he had to cover them up, and Nidoran recoiled from the loud screech the ball Pokémon had made. Ash slightly uncovered his ears and hoped that this would not happen again.

But Lt. Surge only smirked and said, "Screech again!"

So Voltorb vibrated once again and screeched loudly. On the stands, Ash's friends covered their ears too, and he was too far away to hear Brock when he was telling Daisy and Misty something.

"Nidoran, fold your ears back and use Double Kick!" Ash yelled over the screech.

Nidoran pawed the ground again and, folding his ears close against his head, ran at Voltorb with his horn lowered. He reared up and gave the screeching ball two hard kicks in the face.

"Self Destruct!" Lt. Surge bellowed.

Suddenly, Voltorb started glowing white, and Ash wondered if it was evolving. But then a loud explosion blasted over the arena, and he stepped back to avoid the huge cloud of smoke and dust. When the dust cleared, both Nidoran and Voltorb were lying on the ground, knocked out.

"Nidoran and Voltorb are both unable to battle!" the referee called. "Trainers, call out your next Pokémon!"

Now Ash realized what had happened. Voltorb had used this attack to knock itself _and _Nidoran out. That was something he did not want to see again in the future. He recalled Nidoran and said, "Great job, Nidoran. Take a good rest."

"Voltorb was only canon fodder," Lt. Surge growled, recalling Voltorb. "Let's see how you can match up against...Magnemite!"

He threw out his second Poké Ball, and out came an odd gray Pokémon. It was a floating magnet ball, _just _a floating ball, with an eye in the middle and two magnets sticking out on either side.

Once again, Ash pulled out his PokéDex and scanned the new being. It read, _"Magnemite is the Magnet Pokémon. It attaches itself to power lines to feed on electricity. If your house has a power outage, check your circuit breakers. You may find a large number of this Pokémon clinging onto the breaker box."_

_I...didn't really get that, _Ash thought as he put his PokéDex away. He then pulled out a Poké Ball and tossed it out, calling, "Charmander, I choose you!"

Out came the shiny Charmander in sparkles, puffing out a flame and looking ready. From the sidelines, Brock was nodding in approval. "That's a great choice Ash made," he commented. "Magnemite's part Steel-type, and Steel-types are weak against Fire-type attacks."

"It looks like Ash's got the advantage," Daisy remarked.

"Magnemite, light 'em up with Metal Sound!" Lt. Surge called as the second round started.

Magnemite started humming, and a harsh ping came out from its body. Ash felt his ears ache again, but to his relief, it did not sound as bad as Voltorb's Screech.

"Charmander, Smokescreen!" Ash called.

Charmander opened his mouth and spewed out coal-black smoke, filling the arena with the stuff. Magnemite's buzzing could still be heard

"Are you _really _setting yourself up to fail?" Lt. Surge sneered. "Then let me help. Magnemite, Sonic Boom!"

From in the smoke, Magnemite was launching sound waves at Charmander. He was caught unawares by the attack and was hit in the back by one of the Sonic Booms. Because of this, he had to keep watching over his back to avoid being caught unawares again.

"Counter with Ember!" Ash called.

So Charmander opened his mouth to fire...but no embers came out. Instead, a large ball of flame fired out of his mouth and through the smoke. A clanging sound told Ash that whatever Charmander had fired, it had met its mark.

"Ash, that's Flame Burst!" Brock called out from behind the smoke. "It can be a useful Fire-type attack!"

Ash looked back around at the battle, the smoke now starting to clear up. Magnemite was floating away from Charmander, heaving up and down and trying to stay afloat. Unlike Voltorb, Magnemite did not look like it was raring to go again.

On the other side of the arena, Lt. Surge snarled, "Drat! That kid's Charmander learned himself a new move. Magnemite!" he barked. "Use Charge Beam, on the double!"

Magnemite started drawing in some electric energy and then fired it at Charmander.

That was when Ash decided to repeat his trick, the same he and Charmander did with Giselle and her Cubone. So he told Charmander, "Spin on the ground and use Ember!"

Charmander laid down on the ground and started spinning around, spewing out flaming embers. The flames surrounding him had reflected the Charge Beam away from him, and Magnemite had to float away from the stray attack.

"You little sneak..." Lt. Surge growled. "Magnemite, Charge Beam, full force!"

"Charmander, Flame Burst!"

Like before, Charmander shot out a ball of fire from his mouth, soaring above the Charge Beam. It did hit him and make him reel back in pain, but Flame Burst had also hit Magnemite straight in the face. The magnet Pokémon fell back, its body grinding against the ground as it slid up to the large boots of Lt. Surge.

The referee walked over to Magnemite to see if it was getting up. When it did not raise its magnets, he called, "Magnemite is unable to battle. Charmander wins!"

"We're doing it!" Ash cheered as the victory was called. "We'll win this for sure!"

Charmander replied with a happy "Char!" and a swish of his tail.

Lt. Surge recalled Magnemite, giving Ash a glare. "You might've gotten lucky, but here's my true power! I'm gonna wipe that smirk off of your face, one way or another. Front and center, Raichu!"

He threw out a ball, which summoned Raichu. The larger mouse Pokémon lashed its very long tail upon its arrival, beckoning Charmander with it to make a move. Charmander met the challenge with his own tail lashing, a few sparks of fire leaping away.

"Raichu, we don't got time to waste. Iron Tail!" Lt. Surge roared.

"Charmander, Flame Burst!" Ash called.

As Charmander prepared to use his new Flame Burst again, Raichu sped out and raised its tail, which was slowly glowing silver. Its tail was indeed pretty long, for it slammed its lightning-shaped tail tip down on the lizard Pokémon. Charmander prepared to try and fight back, but Lt. Surge was giving another command already.

"Finish it with Focus Punch!" Lt. Surge demanded.

Raichu drew back its right front paw, focusing its energy into it. Ash noticed Charmander trying to shake the pain off, unaware that he was stumbling toward the awaiting attack. "Get out of the way, quick!" Ash called.

But it was too late. Charmander was caught in the stomach by Raichu's punch and was slammed away until he landed at Ash's feet. He had been knocked out.

"Charmander is unable to battle. Raichu wins!" the referee called.

_Nidoran's out. Voltorb made sure of that, _Ash thought. _Charmander beat Magnemite, but he couldn't stand up against Raichu for too long. Maybe Bulbasaur can do it..._

"Pika!" Pikachu suddenly squeaked, looking up at Ash. "Pika Pika! Pikachu!"

"_You _wanna fight?" Ash asked in surprise. Pikachu nodded with a firm face, and Ash said, "All right then, Pikachu. Get out there and use Thunderbolt!"

So Pikachu darted over to the battlefield and stared Raichu in the eye. Both electric mouse Pokémon were glowering at each other with dislike, daring each other to start the fight already.

"Pika...chuuuu!" Pikachu yelled as he fired his Thunderbolt at Raichu.

"Now you're sending in the baby Pokémon, huh?" Lt. Surge sneered. "This is gonna be too easy. Raichu, Thunderbolt!"

So Raichu leered at Pikachu as its yellow cheeks crackled with electricity, just as Pikachu had always done with his red cheeks. With a loud "Rai...CHUUUU!", huge sparks flew out toward Pikachu. Both attacks collided, sparks of electricity bouncing off of each other.

But suddenly, Raichu's electricity overpowered Pikachu's, and its attack hit Pikachu head-on, making Pikachu cry out in pain before falling down. Across from him, Raichu watched him struggle with a grunt and a glower. Ash had been worried about Pikachu standing up to a Pokémon like this, and now, his worries were unfolding in front of him like a folding chair.

"Pikachu, get back!" Ash called, worried for his starter. "You don't have to keep fighting!"

"P-Pika!" Pikachu shouted back, trying his best to stand up.

Lt. Surge gave a harsh bark of laughter and sneered, "For a toy, that Pikachu has a lot of guts. Too bad we're gonna beat the stuffing outta him. Raichu, give that rat a Brick Break!"

Pikachu tried his best to stand up and was nearly there when Raichu ran up beside him. It slammed its paw down hard onto Pikachu's back, making the smaller mouse Pokémon shriek in pain. He tried getting up again on shaky paws, but the trick was repeated, and Pikachu was brought down again.

"Pikachu, please! Get up! You don't have to fight!" Ash pleaded.

But Pikachu was still trying to raise himself up. Ash was shocked to see blood trickling from the corner of the electric rodent's mouth.

"One more Thunderbolt just because!" Lt. Surge cackled.

Raichu fired up another Thunderbolt, and Pikachu instantly fell to the ground. He tried standing up after the Thunderbolt attack Raichu had given him, baring his teeth in a defiant growl. But with a weak cry, the smaller rodent collapsed.

"Pikachu is unable to battle!" the referee called. "Raichu wins! That means that the winner of this fight is Lt. Surge, gym leader of Vermillion City!"

Ash staggered over to Pikachu, shocked from what he had seen. He knew Pokémon battles were not always lethal, but this...he knew that this was the most lethal battle he had been in so far. When he reached Pikachu's unconscious body, he hoped his partner would lean up and give him a reassuring lick or a reassuring "Pika" as always. Instead, however, he laid as still as a stone.

"Nice try, little baby, but you failed!" Lt. Surge chortled nastily as he recalled Raichu to its Poké Ball. "Just give it up, you and your little Raichu wannabe! You're never gonna be a good trainer." He stormed over and finished, "Now get your sorry butt out of here, or I'll punch your face in so hard, your grandkids are gonna feel it."

Ash crouched beside Pikachu, hugging the small body tight. He felt very scared for his partner as he gently picked him up and hurried out of the gym as fast as his legs could carry him. The trainers at the door did not stop him, and he heard footsteps behind him as Daisy, Misty, and Brock hurried after the Pallet Town boy. _Hang in there, Pikachu, _Ash thought frantically as he carried Pikachu through the city. _We'll get you some help!_

There was no reply.

**To be continued...**

**...**

**There we go, folks, and I hope you enjoyed this chapter! If there is anything wrong in this chapter that needs fixing, just let me know, and I'll fix it. I appreciate constructive criticism as long as you're polite about it. Plus, I know that** **Pokémon level up moves will be kinda different from how they use them in the games, but they kinda only mentioned that once in the anime.**

**Well...the presidential election is coming up on Tuesday. I know who I'm gonna root for, but I don't wanna drag any political stuff into my stories. Let's just say that I'm getting really nervous about who I'd see as president. And now after that, that's ALL there will be with political stuff in my stories.**

**Ash: Pikachu (Quick Attack, Double Team, Electro Ball, Thunderbolt), Pidgeotto (Wing Attack, Gust, Sand Attack, Quick Attack), Butterfree (String Shot, Confusion, Gust, Tackle), Nidoran (Poison Sting, Double Kick, Horn Attack, Leer), Bulbasaur (Leech Seed, Poison Powder, Tackle, Vine Whip), Charmander (Scratch, Metal Claw, Ember, Smokescreen)  
At Professor Oak's: Squirtle (Water Gun, Withdraw, Rapid Spin, Tackle)**

**Daisy: Eevee (Tackle, Iron Tail, Helping Hand, Tail Whip), Beedrill (Poison Sting, Agility, String Shot, Pin Missile), Magikarp (Splash)**

**Misty: Staryu (Rapid Spin, Water Gun, Harden), Starmie (Swift, Water Pulse, Recover, Rapid Spin), Goldeen (Splash, Water Gun, Horn Attack, Tail Whip)**

**Brock: Geodude (Rock Throw, Rock Polish, Tackle, Defense Curl), Onix (Rock Tomb, Rock Polish, Tackle, Bind), Zubat (Leech Life, Supersonic, Bite, Wing Attack)**

**See ya next time!**


	22. Electric Showdown (part 2)

**Hey there, everyone, and welcome back to Journey Of An Autistic Trainer! I said that I'd upload this chapter and the previous one together in one day. But things happen like my sister getting sick and my dog dying, and I had to change plans...but that's okay.**

**Anyway, we finally got our book sent to Harper Collins. After a long time of proofreading and procrastination, we finally did it. But it's not guaranteed that they'll accept it. We gotta wait around three months until we hear if they're gonna accept it.  
**

**Warning: there will be a swear in this chapter, since Lt. Surge had actually cursed in the original Japanese dub.**

**Uploading Date: January 30, 2017**

**Enjoy!**

**...**

_**Electric Showdown (part 1)**_

The past few hours after the battle felt like a very long time to Ash. He had carried Pikachu straight to the Pokémon center, where Nidoran and Charmander got their regular checkups and treatments. As for Pikachu, he joined the fifteen Pokémon to be hospitalized, separated from his teammates for recovery.

Ash sat beside Pikachu's hospital bed nearly throughout all day. He kept waiting for signs for his starter Pokémon to immediately get up like he had always done, but he did not. Perhaps the beating it had taken from Raichu had drained a lot of his energy. Seeing Pikachu look so vulnerable and weakened made Ash feel angry with himself for what happened.

_Well, I hope you're happy, _Ash scolded himself as he watched Nurse Joy tending to Pikachu again. _If you hadn't been raring to go right away and be reckless, you wouldn't have gotten Pikachu hurt._

But he knew that blaming himself would be worse. Pikachu would not want him to feel like this. His partner had helped him through physical and emotional battles, and he wanted to help him in return.

"Ash?"

He looked around as Daisy, Misty, and Brock came in, three of their Pokémon by their side. Eevee was holding a bag of berries, Goldeen had a balloon that read "Get Well Soon" tied to her horn, and Geodude had even made a rather crude-looking Pikachu made of rock. All of Ash's Pokémon were already out of their PokéBalls, each looking concerned for their partner.

"Ash...it's not your fault," Daisy said. "You didn't know it would-"

"Yes I did," Ash answered, turning away from her. "I saw the Pokémon in the center injured, and I just made some kind of promise to help them. And now look! Pikachu's hurt like them!"

Daisy sighed and wrapped her arm around his shoulder. "I have to admit that it was kind of rash to keep a promise that quick, but you and Pikachu tried your best," she assured him. "Maybe in the next battle, you can try your hardest."

"Pikachu already _did _try his hardest," Misty pointed out.

Daisy gave her an annoyed look only to meet Brock's gaze. The Pewter City gym leader was giving her a look that meant, _Don't start this again. _So she turned her attention back to Ash, who was sitting beside Pikachu's gurney.

"If I may," Nurse Joy said, carrying a little box over to Pikachu's bedside, "I might have something that can help you."

The travelers crowded around to see the bright yellow stone with the orange lightning bolt at its core. Nurse Joy explained, "It's a Thunder Stone, a little something I stumbled across in the past. It can be used to evolve Pikachu into Raichu."

_Giselle from __Poké Tech said the same thing, _Ash realized. He recalled her saying that to evolve, a Pikachu had to use a Thunder Stone.

"That's like with Starmie and a Water Stone. If you use it on a Staryu, it'll evolve into a Starmie," Misty spoke up, being the current trainer of a Staryu _and_ a Starmie.

"If I do it...then Pikachu can get stronger," Ash told himself, realizing that the others were listening. "But...should I?"

"It's your choice, young man," Nurse Joy replied. "But remember that there's no going back. Once you evolve a Pokémon, whether through stones or by leveling up, they can never go back to their original form."

So Ash took the stone and walked over to Pikachu's beside. To his relief, Pikachu was waking up, opening his eyes and looking around. He did not speak when Ash approached his bedside, and Ash noticed this, worried. Was Pikachu mad at him?

"Hey, Pikachu," Ash said, kneeling beside his partner. He held up the Thunder Stone and went on, "Nurse Joy gave us this Thunder Stone; it can help you evolve. If you can use it, we can finally beat Lt. Surge."

At first, Pikachu remained silent. Ash felt himself wishing that he could talk to his partner and understand what he was thinking.

All of a sudden, Pikachu let out a loud "PIKA!" and sat up in his bed. He was giving the Thunder Stone a disdainful look, as if it had formed a mouth and sneezed at him. The fire in his eyes were like that of a volcano, exploding with the ferocity of a typhoon. That was when Ash recalled what Lt. Surge had told him before their battle: _"A Pokémon's only useful once it knows all the moves it can possibly know. You should've evolved that rat as soon as you got him."_

But here was Pikachu now, ready to fight for his species' reputation. It was like with Ash and his autism; Pikachu wanted to be an example of how unevolved Pokémon could be strong, not the exception.

"If you're sure," Ash told Pikachu, bending down and hugging Pikachu lightly. "If you don't want it, I'll respect it. Will he be okay tomorrow?" he asked the nearby nurse as he released Pikachu.

Nurse Joy nodded. "I think he will be. One more rough battle, though, and he might not battle again for a while."

The four thanked Nurse Joy for all her help, and Ash patted Pikachu's head gently before recalling his Pokémon to their PokéBalls. When the others did the same, they went off to get dinner.

In the cafeteria, Daisy had let her Eevee out, and Brock got Zubat out as well. Ash did not get send any of his out this time. He stared down at his turkey slices in gravy and garlic buttered potatoes; it felt strange and pretty sad to eat dinner without Pikachu.

"Hey, are you feeling okay?" Misty asked Ash while he kept fiddling with his dinner; she had gotten Goldeen out again and was sprinkling rice out for her to eat. "You haven't touched your food yet."

Ash nodded, taking a fork and stabbing a potato with it. He picked it up and looked down at it, but he didn't eat it yet. "I've just been thinking...maybe I've been trying to approach this the wrong way," he admitted.

"You might wanna be careful, though," Daisy spoke up. "We all saw how powerful that Raichu can be. It's got some pretty powerful moves."

"Three of those were TMs, one that it could learn naturally as a Pikachu," Brock spoke up. "And one was a TM but is now a Battle-Point move."

Misty nodded. "That's true," she said. "I hadn't been thinking when I evolved one of my Staryu, so I had to teach Starmie some TMs as well."

"And that means...Raichu couldn't learn any useful moves while leveling up!" Ash exclaimed as he revealed what he had been thinking.

Brock nodded. "That's right, Ash. Lt. Surge must've had to teach Raichu those moves to make up for it."

Misty gave him an approving smile. "Looks like you're learning a lot of new things today," she remarked.

"Thanks, Misty," Ash told her. "I think I know what to do now."

"And so do I," Brock said, getting up and pushing his chair back. "Excuse me, I gotta make a phone call."

While he was walking off, Misty had gotten up too and followed him. Ash gave Daisy a confused look, wondering without asking what they were going to do. Daisy looked just as confused as he did, but both ultimately decided that it wasn't any of their business on who Misty and Brock called.

...

The next morning, Pikachu was ready to start walking again. Nurse Joy released him from her custody, warning Ash to not push Pikachu too hard in his next battle. Ash had trained with the other Pokémon in his party some more, so he was prepared to head back to the Vermilion gym. But first there was something...or rather someone...missing.

"Where's Brock at?" Ash wondered, looking around. "And Misty too?"

"I asked them that, but Misty said that they had to make another phone call. She said they hope you win this time," Daisy explained. "And I know you're nervous, but you've got me, Misty, and Brock rooting for you."

Ash smiled, reassured by this. "I'll thank them when we get back," he said.

Surprisingly, the path to the gym was blocked once again by a tree. And once more, Daisy had sent her Beedrill out to cut it down, Ash letting Charmander help by burning it down with Ember. Ash guessed that Lt. Surge would have a sturdy log be planted in front of the path to challenge trainers coming to his gym. The tree was out of the way again, and Ash and Daisy made it to the other side.

At the entrance of the gym were the two trainers that greeted them the day before. They did not leer at Ash and Daisy this time, merely staring at them stoically before stepping to the side. Lt. Surge was stalking over, his face with its usual jeering expression, and Ash felt his hands tremble. He would have to be the bravest he could be so far to face down this gym leader.

"So you couldn't be bothered to evolve your rat, huh?" Lt. Surge growled with a sneer, not bothering with a proper greeting. "But hey, I've thought of our battle yesterday. How about we make this a one-on-one match, just between Pikachu and Raichu? It'll be easier on you."

Ash shook his head. "No, we can make it a three-on-three battle, like yesterday. And I got a good way to defeat you now."

Lt. Surge's sneer did not change. "Good," he replied. "I've wanted that same challenge. And to me, that's just a new way for you to lose."

Suddenly, a beam of light came out from the belt Ash used to carry his PokéBalls. Butterfree had emerged, looking both supportive and fretful.

"What's wrong?" Ash asked. "You look like you haven't stretched your wings much."

Butterfree buzzed and fluttered around his trainer, looking hopeful. Ash could see the desperation in the butterfly Pokémon's big red eyes as he longed to be useful again. He admitted that it was kind of his fault, for he had not thought of Butterfree for recent challenges.

"I guess I haven't let you out much lately," Ash said apologetically. "You can cheer for me if you'd like."

Butterfree gave a squeal of delight and fluttered around Ash.

"Are you done yet, weakling?" Lt. Surge called from the hallway.

Ash looked up and noticed that Lt Surge, Daisy, and the gym trainers were already walking ahead of him. So he, Pikachu, and Butterfree hurried off after them.

They came to the middle of the gym once again, where Lt. Surge was standing at one side of the arena, looking impatient. Ash took his spot on the other side, with Pikachu and Butterfree at his side. He looked around and saw Daisy give him a wink and a reassuring smile before she went over to sit on the bleachers. Eevee had come out of her ball to watch the match as well.

"This will be a three-on-three gym battle!" the referee called, raising a flag. "Only the challenger is allowed to substitute Pokémon. The battle is over once all Pokémon from one team goes down." Then he waved the flag, calling, "Begin!"

Lt. Surge was already making his move, calling out Magnemite this time with a loud "Atten HUT!" So Ash tossed out a PokéBall as well and called, "Charmander, I choose you!"

Out came the shiny Charmander with a battle cry, swishing his flame-tipped tail as sparkles flashed around him. Lt. Surge merely chortled and sarcastically clapped three times.

"Second time's the charm, huh?" he remarked once he was done with clapping. "Magnemite's going to make your lizard pay this time. Now Magnemite, Shock Wave!"

Magnemite buzzed and unleashed its power, a wave of electricity heading for Charmander.

"Charmander, Flame Burst!" Ash called.

Charmander spewed out flames, the same move he had used to defeat Magnemite. Both attacks hit each other, and Charmander reeled back from the Shock Wave while Magnemite shuddered as it floated. Ash was just about to feel at ease when Lt. Surge sneered.

"Double Team," he growled.

A dozen Magnemite copies suddenly shot away from Magnemite, surrounding Charmander. The lizard Pokémon looked around in shock as it tried to see how to tell one Magnemite from each other. Ash himself wasn't sure what to do at this point.

All of a sudden, his Pokédex was beeping from in his pocket. Ash took it out just in time for it to say, _"Double Team: The user makes copies of itself, boosting its evasiveness (chances of dodging moves)."_

_I never knew it can describe moves, _Ash thought with surprise. He would have to keep that in mind the next time he saw a move that would baffle him.

"Hey baby! Quit playing with your toy, and let me roast you!" Lt. Surge barked. His scowl turned into a sneer as he called, "Magnemite, Sonicboom!"

All the Magnemite copies fired up their magnets and let loose blasts of sound at Charmander. Charmander tried to deflect each one with blasts of embers, but he got hit a few times with half of what was sent his way. He was hopelessly outnumbered and apparently outmatched.

"Try to dodge and Flame Burst!" Ash called, blocking one ear to avoid too much sound.

Charmander spewed out some flames, hitting one of the copies and making it vanish. He got hit twice by two Sonicbooms, and this made his tail flame glow even brighter. Suddenly, the flames started spreading out toward the copies, erasing one after the other. This kept going on until the true Magnemite was the only one that remained, this Magnemite looking nervous at being found out.

"Rrr...not bad, kid," Lt. Surge growled. "Never knew you knew that can hit targets next to the attacker, Double Team or not. Magnemite, Shock Wave!"

"Charmander, Flame Burst!" Ash called.

Both fired their attacks at each other, landing on their targets. Charmander was hit square in the chest with Shock Wave, and Magnemite was blown backward with the powerful blasts of ember. It was so much that Magnemite eventually collapsed, knocked out.

"Magnemite is unable to battle! Charmander wins!" the referee called.

Lt. Surge scoffed and recalled Magnemite into its ball. In the meantime, Ash called to Charmander, "You did really great out there, Charmander! Great job!"

Charmander let out a happy cry and swished his tail around.

"Let's see how lucky you can get with _this _one," Lt. Surge growled, tossing out another PokéBall. As his Voltorb came out, he called, "Voltorb, Charge!"

Voltorb did not move, but it seemed to vibrate while it stored electricity. It even buzzed, sounding like the alarm clock Ash had in his room back at Pallet Town.

"Charmander, Smokescreen!" Ash instructed.

Instead of fire, Charmander spewed out black smoke, hiding itself from view. Ash figured that if he used this move, that could make it difficult for Voltorb to find and land an easy hit on Charmander. _So far, so good,_ he thought.

"Voltorb, Tackle that Charmander and use Self-Destruct!"

Now Ash's confidence turned to alarm. He could recall the devastating power this move had when it knocked out Nidoran. "Charmander, get outta the way!" Ash yelled.

But it was too late. Before Charmander could move, Voltorb started glowing and charged at Charmander through the smoke. Just like in yesterday's match, a huge explosion blasted all around the arena, sending up clouds of dust that mixed with the smoke. When the dust and the smoke cleared, both Charmander and Voltorb were knocked out.

"Voltorb and Charmander are unable to battle!" the referee called. "Trainers, send out your next Pokémon!"

Ash was shocked. This round had ended as soon as it had begun. Why had Lt. Surge decided to let his Pokémon use Self-Destruct this early? But he said nothing as he recalled Chamander, saying, "You did great, Charmander. Take a good rest."

He looked up across the arena at Lt. Surge, who was now sending out his Raichu. This left Ash confused. How could Lt. Surge look easy with having one Pokémon left while Ash had two still?

"Bulbasaur, I choose you!" he said as he tossed out Bulbasaur's ball.

Out came Bulbasaur, landing before Raichu and pawing the ground. He looked calmer than Charmander due to being the peacekeeper among Ash's team.

"Great move, Ash!" Daisy called encouragingly from the stands. "Electric types aren't that effective on Grass types!"

"Bulbasaur, huh?" growled Lt. Surge, ignoring Daisy. "Looks like you finally did something smart for once, baby. Raichu!" he barked as he ignored Ash's indignant look as well. "Use Iron Tail!"

Raichu's tail glowed silver before charging at Bulbasaur on all fours.

"Bulbasaur, dodge and use Leech Seed!" Ash called.

With a shake of his bulb, Bulbasaur gave a loud "Bulba!" as he shot a seed from said bulb and made sure it landed on Raichu. The seed latched itself onto the lightning bolt on Raichu's tail, making the mouse Pokémon squeal with irritation as a bit of its health was sapped.

"Nice hit...for a baby," Lt. Surge sneered. "Raichu, blast it with Thunderbolt!"

_It's like what Daisy said: Electric moves don't work against Grass types too good...right? _Ash thought with worry. But when Raichu charged up and unleashed a powerful Thunderbolt onto Bulbasaur, the Seed Pokémon cried out in pain as he was electrified.

In spite of being shocked, though, Bulbasaur was still standing, growling in defiance as he tried to stand up against his larger opponent. Raichu sneered back, its face briefly turned into a scowl as the implanted seed on its tail sapped some of its energy. Ash hoped that sooner or later, the Leech Seed would take effect and do Raichu in.

"Raichu, finish it off with Iron Tail!" Lt. Surge barked.

"Bulbasaur, use Vine Whip!" Ash commanded.

Bulbasaur whipped out his vines and lashed them at Raichu, striking one of its yellow cheeks. But Raichu had also spun around and slammed its tail against Bulbasaur's jaw, and the Seed Pokémon reeled back in pain. Thanks to the combination of the Iron Tail attack and the Thunderbolt he had suffered earlier, he fell onto one of his sides, knocked out.

"Bulbasaur is unable to battle! Raichu wins!" the referee called.

Lt. Surge and Raichu boasted and laughed while Ash recalled Bulbasaur. "You did the best you could," he told Bulbasaur's PokéBall. "Take a long rest."

Ash looked up at his opponent, who was watching him like a Spearow eager to nab some territory. He guessed that Daisy was watching him back at the bleachers, so he stole a glance over at her. The teen had a concerned look on her face, but she gave him a nod as if to say, "You can do it". He wanted to believe that, he really did, but how could he actually defeat a very powerful Raichu?

"Pika!"

Ash looked around at Pikachu resting on his shoulder. He had forgotten that his partner had been right beside him the whole time. Pikachu was glaring over at Raichu with a kind of vengeful determination, electricity sparkling from his cheeks. _Does Pikachu want payback from yesterday? _Ash wondered. _Nurse Joy said for him to take it easy...but does he really want to fight this badly?_

"Okay then," Ash said uncertainly. As Pikachu jumped off of his shoulder and onto the battlefield, he commanded, "Then Pikachu, I choose you!"

From the bleachers, Daisy called "Kick his tail, Pikachu!" only to be interrupted by Lt. Surge's scornful chuckle.

"You never learn your lessons, do you, baby?" the Vermilion gym leader sneered, shaking his head in mock disappointment. "I told you that a Pokémon is only useful when it evolves. Don't say I didn't warn you if that rat goes down again."

_We'll see about that, _Ash thought. He commanded, "Pikachu, Iron Tail!"

Lt. Surge laughed. "It's gonna go down again thanks to you not evolving it," he jeered. "Raichu, show 'em what a TRUE Iron Tail is!"

Pikachu rushed over at Raichu, his tail glowing silver, and he spun around as he prepared to land the blow. Raichu's tail also glowed silver as it simply whisked it around like a whip, and when Pikachu was close enough, both Iron Tails collided. Suddenly, Raichu kicked dirt out at Pikachu, momentarily blinding him, before spinning around and slamming Pikachu down with Iron Tail.

"Pika!" Pikachu cried out in pain as he slid over to the near border of the arena.

"Pikachu! Are you okay?!" Ash called out, getting very worried. He knew Pikachu had wanted to fight again...but did he make a mistake in letting him fight again too soon?

"That rat won't be okay when we're done with it!" Lt. Surge roared. "Raichu, roast it with Thunderbolt!"

With a loud cry, Raichu fired up his cheeks, and electricity shot out and blasted Pikachu with the force of an Onix's tail slam. Pikachu yelped and tumbled around on the battlefield, trying desperately to get back on his paws, but Raichu was ready. It chortled as it fired another Thunderbolt at Pikachu, keeping him down and unable to defend himself. Ash felt his heart ache from worry and heartbreak. It was like a deadly game of cat and mouse, the larger mouse Poké keeping his small opponent grounded.

"We got that rat where we want him. Finish it with Focus Punch!" Lt. Surge roared.

Raichu jumped up again and let its fist glow with energy, preparing to deal the finishing blow. Ash wasn't sure what he could do right now. Lt. Surge had his Raichu get Pikachu pinned and down for the count. It was bigger, stronger, faster...

_Faster? _Ash's brain clicked as if a light bulb had been lit up. _That's it!_

"Pikachu, Agility!"

Pikachu was able to get back up on his paws this time and darted out of the way. Now unlike what happened the day before, Raichu's fist had missed its target as it slammed into the ground. Raichu looked around in surprise at its younger cousin, who merely gave it a confident grin.

So Raichu prepared to chop Pikachu again, only to meet air as the smaller rodent zipped past it. It was a game of cat-and-mouse now as Pikachu kept speeding past his larger opponent, who tried punching out at him but failing. It was even starting to get dizzy and tired, panting as it lashed its tail fuiously and slapped the lightning end on the ground.

"No!" Lt. Surge growled, keeping his voice aggressive. "I couldn't waste time making Raichu _fast_. It had to be _strong_! Raichu, blast 'em with the biggest Thunderbolt you've got!"

"Pikachu, out of the way!" Ash called quickly just in time for Raichu to yell, "Raiii...CHUUUUUU!"

With a loud cry, Raichu fired up its yellow cheeks and fired an ear-splitting burst of electricity up to the air. Ash had to cover his face to avoid the huge blasts of lightning coming from Raichu. The electricity even hit the glass on the roof of the building, shattering the glass into a million pieces, and Ash and the girls had to get out of the way. Only Lt. Surge did not move as he smirked and stood his ground, barely flinching as several glass shards cut his muscular arms.

But when the smoke cleared away, everyone was shocked at what they saw. The ground had been ripped through the middle by Raichu's electric blast, but that was not what shocked them; Pikachu was completely unharmed this time. In fact, he was standing straight up on his tail, balancing himself well with a determined look and a defiant "Pika!". Ash was uncovering his face now, a big smile on his face as he saw that his command had worked.

"So that's what happened!" Daisy exclaimed. "Pikachu must've used his tail to ride out the Thunderbolt!"

Lt. Surge stared at a smiling Ash with shock before turning into rage. "Rrr...I think you got way too lucky, you little brat! Raichu!" he barked. "Roast that Pikachu _and _his trainer with Thunderbolt!"

Everyone gasped when they heard this, even the gruff trainers from the gym entrance. Gym leaders usually never used their Pokémon to attack another Pokémon's trainer. Ash felt the smile slide off of his face and backed away, not wanting to be zapped by the power he had seen from under his arms.

But as soon as Raichu's electricity sparkled up...it suddenly fizzled out.

"What?!" Lt. Surge roared as everyone, even Raichu, looked amazed. "Come on, Raichu, do it again!"

So Raichu tried again, only to get the same result. It even looked frustrated the more it tried to attack, letting out a "Rai!" as each electric attack failed. Ash couldn't stop smiling now; his plan to get Raichu off its guard had worked!

"Raichu must be out of electricity!" Daisy exclaimed with a fire in her eyes. "It's going down now!"

Lt. Surge was no longer smiling, a furious snarl taking over his face. "Raichu! We don't need Thunderbolt anyway!" he barked. "Focus Punch that damn rat!"

Raichu raised a paw, curling it into a fist and preparing to strike.

"Pikachu, Quick Attack before it strikes!" Ash commanded.

Pikachu got down on all fours, darting over and hitting Raichu in the belly. Raichu stumbled away from the attack and growled in frustration. Then, without even a command, Pikachu jumped up in the air and let his tail glow silver before spinning in circles down at Raichu, slamming his tail down on the larger mouse Pokémon's head.

At last, Raichu could not take it anymore and fell to the ground with a mighty thud. Pikachu braced himself for an upcoming attack, a sneak attack even, but there was no need. Raichu did not get up again; it had been defeated.

"Raichu is unable to battle! Pikachu wins!" the referee called. "That means that the winner is Ash Ketchum from Pallet Town!"

Ash heard the words echo in his ears as clear as a shout in a cave. He had finally won against Lt. Surge. It was a harsh and brutal battle, but he and Pikachu had finally done it.

"We did it!" Ash exclaimed, running over to Pikachu and scooping him up. He gave him a big hug and said, "You were great out there, Pikachu. I'm glad you're okay."

"Pika..." Pikachu muttered with a dazed smile before falling unconscious.

"N-No way..." Lt. Surge rasped. His eyes were nearly bugging out of their sockets as he looked to Pikachu with shock and disgust. "That little rat actually beat my Raichu? Rrr..."

He recalled Raichu back into its ball, and Ash was half-expecting the gym leader to come and offer his congrats. Instead, Lt. Surge gave Ash a scornful snort and spun away in a sharp about-face. Daisy looked indignant and was opening her mouth to retort, but Ash beat her to it.

"Wait," he finally exclaimed before Lt. Surge could stalk away. "I don't wanna be rude, but I'd like an apology."

"Apology?" Lt. Surge repeated incredulously as he spun around, and the arrogant look on his face had returned. "For what, you little baby?"

Ash stood up, Pikachu still cradled in his arms. "For being this harsh to challengers during a gym battle," he declared. "I've learned that insulting challengers and threatening to hurt them in a gym battle isn't the right thing to do."

Daisy looked surprised. Unknowingly to Ash, she had been scared that he would not be brave enough to stand up against a large man like Lt. Surge. Now she had to admire the way he was able to calm himself and try defending himself this time on his own.

"And why should I apologize?" Lt. Surge growled, leering menacingly at him.

"Because your fellow gym leaders and I saw and heard the whole thing."

Everyone looked around as the doors to the inner gym opened. A man in his thirties stepped in, red hair in the same hue as blood. He wore a dark blue uniform like that of a vampire, his cape flapping out behind him as he strode over to Lt. Surge with an angry look on his face. And beside him were Misty and Brock, who had broken off from this man to rejoin Ash and Daisy.

"Is that...Lance from the Indigo League?" Ash murmured in awe. He had recalled seeing this person on the TV show where he watched the Indigo League. _I can't believe he's actually here in person!_

Brock walked up beside him, saying, "Yeah. He's a master of Dragon-types, and he's part of their Elite Four." He dropped his voice to a whisper and said, "Remember that phone call I wanted to make earlier? Well, this was the guy Misty and I wanted to call."

"And it looks like you won, from the way Lt. Surge looked," Misty added as she joined them. "Congrats!"

Ash gave her and Brock a grateful look before looking back to Lance. The Dragon-type master was stalking to the middle of the ring and giving Lt. Surge a talking to.

"Lt. Surge, do you have any idea how much trouble you're in?" Lance asked with a hint of a growl in his voice. "Brock of the Pewter City gym and Misty of the Cerulean City gym called me last night, and you know what they told me? They told me on how you had insulted any trainer that lost to you. Gym leaders cannot demoralize any challenging trainers; it's an insult to the trainer and the gym as a whole."

"But he was being a whiny brat!" Lt. Surge growled. "I was just defending my right to run this gym by putting him in his place!"

Lance was not impressed. "Yes, you have a right to defend your right to run this gym, but look at the big picture here," he snapped. "You've broken several league rules throughout your career as a gym leader, refusing a challenger a fair fight, and insulting him at that. And no gym leader would threaten harm to a challenger. I'm calling the police as soon as I leave, and-"

"Wait!"

Lance had stopped yelling and looked around at Ash. Lt. Surge dropped the defiant act and looked around at him too, eyes wide.

"What's wrong, trainer?" Lance asked, his eyes still stern but curious as well.

Ash prepared himself for what he had to say, nervous of actually talking with a member of the Elite Four. Then he found himself saying, "You can't throw Lt. Surge in jail."

Lance looked mildly surprised. "I wasn't going to put him in jail," he said. "I was just going to have him interrogated by the police. From what Misty and Brock told me, he showed no mercy to you or the other challengers."

"I know Lt. Surge had said bad things to me yesterday and today, and he shouldn't hurt challengers the way he did," he said as he tried to keep himself from walking away. "But after that, Pikachu told me that he didn't want to evolve, and we felt...confident. As long as Pikachu's fine the way he is, we can do anything. And I think it's because of Lt. Surge that we're gonna start being more confident."

Behind him, Daisy felt very proud of Ash. She had realized that Brock was right. It was good for her to defend Ash, but she had to let him defend himself more. Even if she wanted to see Lt. Surge pay for what he did, she had a feeling that Ash knew what he was doing.

Lance still had a surprised expression before he gave Ash an approving nod and turned to Lt. Surge. "This was going be the last straw for you," he told the gym leader. "But since this trainer stood up for you, we'll give you one more chance. But for now, you are to be suspended from Pokémon gym activities for one month. Just because you apologized now doesn't mean you're not completely off the hook. We'll have to find a good replacement until you fix your attitude."

Stunned, Lt. Surge numbly nodded, saying, "Yeah...sure. Okay, Lance."

"Good. See to it that this behavior gets sorted out," Lance replied.

And with a sweep of his cape, the Dragon-type trainer marched out of the gym. When he was gone, Lt. Surge turned back to Ash, his face still looking stunned after what happened.

"Kid...you saved my keister back there," he rasped in awe. "And after all I said to you...you could've just laughed at my misery. Why didn't you?"

"I know...but it wouldn't feel right seeing you being arrested," Ash admitted, and he knew he had chosen the right words. Out of all the times he had wanted to get back at Lt. Surge for humiliating him, seeing him in trouble did not seem right. It would have felt satisfying, but he couldn't find it in himself to let that satisfaction out.

Lt. Surge finally opened his eyes and told Ash with a smile, "Kid, it takes a big man to admit this...I owe you an apology. Lance was right; as gym leader, I should've stuck to the rules and fought against you fairly. And now I know that you've had guts of steel to be facing up against me. Here," he went on, pulling something out of his jacket and tossing it to Ash. "You won it fair and square. And here's my favorite TM: Thunderbolt."

Ash caught the item and looked down at it. It was the Thunder Badge, one of the hardest of the badges so far. Lt. Surge handed him a disc containing the move that Pikachu already learned: Thunderbolt. _We did it, _Ash thought with pride as he and Pikachu looked down at the Thunder Badge. _Three down, and eight more to go!_

"Celadon Gym is up," Lt. Surge said. "Some upstart kid from a few days ago went to Saffron before I could tell him to go to Celadon. I bet and hope that Sabrina's gonna whip his butt good." Then he grinned and said, "Now get outta here and kick his butt."

Ash could see a new respect shine in Lt. Surge's eyes, and Raichu had even come out of its ball to congratulate Pikachu. With a small smile, he let Pikachu rest on his shoulder as he and his friends made their way out of the gym.

"You really called Lance about Lt. Surge?" Ash asked once they left the gym. He had felt grateful for what they did, but a part of him also felt a little guilty about nearly letting someone fight his battle for him.

Misty nodded. "We sure did," she said. "Brock and I didn't like the way he treated you and those other trainers at the Center."

"So we gave the Indigo League official a call," Brock continued for Misty. "Lance was the first one available, and he's always valued a fair competition. When we told him what was going on, he had decided to come over and listen and see what went on."

"And that was pretty cool, the way you stood up for yourself," Misty added. "Keep that up, and you'll be winning badges easily in no time."

Ash felt a little smile come over his face. All in all, he was grateful for what they had done for him, and he wanted to pay them back sometime in the future.

"So are you ready to rest up?" Daisy asked as she joined them. "Misty and I talked about wanting to go to the S.S. Anne, the ship in the harbor."

"I almost forgot!" Misty exclaimed. "I've wanted to show you everything on the S.S. Anne!"

That was when Brock stepped in, saying, "We'll go there tomorrow; it's been a long day. Why don't we all go to the center for the night and rest?"

_Great idea, _Ash thought with a weary smile as he watched his older friends walk ahead of him. He stopped to share a look with Pikachu, who gave him a tired smile, as if sharing a silent yet happy victory. It was as if stars had aligned themselves for this victory, a sign that even if there were tougher battles, they could still do it.

_We're gonna see a lot more stars down the road, _Ash promised Pikachu. _And we'll face them together._

_**To be continued...**_

**...**

**There we go, folks, I hope you like this chapter. This is, without a doubt, the longest chapter in this story so far. If there are any mistakes that need fixing, please let me know immediately so I can go fix them. Constructive criticism is always welcome as long as you're polite about it.**

**There are two reasons why I haven't been uploading recently, and again, stuff happens. The first is that we're still trying to get a job, and the second is that one of my dogs died last month. And a third is that I'm still trying to figure out book ideas. They can be anything as long as I write them in an animal's POV. I'm not too good with a human POV.**

**See ya next time!**


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